Good to Go: A Guide to Preparing for the End of Life »

One of the few things in life that’s certain is death—and here’s a realistic, practical, and even humorous book about preparing for it. From cremation ("Making an Ash of Yourself") to funeral plans (“Plan and Plot Your Own Demise”) to choosing executors and dealing with family relationships, media figure Jo Myers covers it all. It’s sure to appeal to boomers caring for aging parents and anyone else who needs help approaching this not-so-easy-to-talk-about subject.

Introduction ix

The ABCs xi

A Accidents Will Happen 1

A for Attitude

Affluent Aunt with Alzheimer's

A for Attitude Again

B Bones of Contention 15

C Caregivers Have Feelings, Too 21

Cremation: Making an Ash of Yourself

D Donate Your Body to Science 29

E Etiquette of Sympathy and Grief 37

E for Eulogy

F Let's Put the Fun Back in Funeral 47

G From Beyond the Grave 55

H Hospice 59

I Independence Issues 67

J Jewelry Junkie 75

K Keeping on Top of the Meds 81

L Dying While Doing Something You Love 87

M Meetings, Meetings, Meetings 93

N Nemesisters (And the Little Brother) 99

O Obits, aka "The Women's Sports Page" 109

P If You Love Your Loved Ones, Preplan 115

Presenting Items to People before You Go

Q Quilts and Other Ways to Celebrate Memories 125

R Respect the Family Unit 129

Respect Other Family Units

S Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff 139

Surprises and Shootings

The Surprise Hits Keep on Comin'!

A Surprise of My Own

A Super-duper Surprise!

T Time Waits for No One 151

U Death is Quite an Undertaking 157

V It Takes a Veterinarian and a Village 163

W The Will: Write It Down, Make Your Wishes Known 169

X eXecutor/eXecutriX 173

Y Yard Sales Versus Estate Sales 179

Z Zzzzzzzz 185

Jo's Glossary 196

Afterword from the Afterworld 199

Acknowledgments 201

Why Jo Wrote This Book 203

A Chance to Contribute Your Stories! 205

Book Jo for Your Event 205

Index 207