My father had cancer but didn’t want to talk about his health. Or his health care. Or his health care wishes. None of it. He wanted to know how his grandsons were doing. And how…

“As the years passed, he eased into a place of comfort knowing that our daughters would absorb the loss, or at least not be destroyed by it, when his death came, because in our family we didn’t avoid “the conversation.”

This Thursday, there will be an empty chair at the table for our family Thanksgiving gathering. My brothers and I made plans months ago to come from the many corners of our busy lives to…