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…

Planning for your future is important for everyone. For solo agers, documenting what matters to you is even more important to make sure your wishes are honored. Your goals and preferences matter and you are valuable.

“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.”

We’ve asked community members to share how they are planning their work (to spread the importance of end-of-life care conversations) so it continues in the long run. The five most common ways groups or individuals are ensuring this work lives on are listed here.

…an advance directive is a way of extending my fatherly caring into a future when I will be the object of attention – and emotional distress. Envisioning such scenes, I imagine that my daughters might wish for my arm around their shoulders.

I hope that I’ve been clear over the years in talking (ad nauseam) to family and friends about my personal convictions…