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Q: Why did you quit a successful radio career to write this book?
A: Once my parents, aunt and friend died, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else but writing Good to Go.
Everywhere I turned, baby boomer’s sibling relationships (including mine) were suffering because parents had not talked about key issues or put specific plans for death in place—plans outside of a Will. My experiences with a dying, elderly friend brought home how estrangement from family might never be resolved and taught me that when a person helps out a non-family member with end-of-life issues, often the terrain is thin ice.
My passion became helping families survive after the deaths of their aged loved ones.
Q: What is the most valuable thing you get when you buy the book?
A: Aside from advice, tips, and sharing from 30 experts who were interviewed for Good to Go?
The Personal Pre-planning Checklist on page 127. My friend, Col. Margaret, a military nurse who ran a M*A*S*H unit in Vietnam, gave me her personal papers, saying, “Maybe you can use this for your book.” I used her information for the compilation of an end-of-life guideline rivaled by no other checklist I’ve ever seen in a pamphlet or otherwise. Colonel Margaret is thoroughly good to go!
The notes from the therapist are also quite helpful for keeping it together during the grieving process. And Good to Go gives an understanding of how hospice works. Some people are afraid to ask or even know about hospice, so that the option is not even entertained until it is sometimes too late.
Q: Who is reading Good to Go?
A: For the most part, women Baby Boomers. However, a lot of men Boomers have their heads in my book.
Septuagenarians and octogenarians are reading my book, too. Anyone who would rather leave a legacy than a mess when they die—that is who is reading Good to Go. Multiple copies are being picked up in sales to individuals for gifts to family members; and professionals, like estate planners and personal advisors, are getting copies for clients. People tell me that Good to Go is great gift idea!
Q: How do people receive a book about death that contains humor?
A: Very well. Good to Go doesn’t have “gallows humor” or dark humor, but appropriate humor. Whether it’s a story about my young son stealing the show at my mother’s funeral service, the telling of my dad’s drug-induced outbursts during a hospital stay, my aunt’s antics in the nursing home, or examples of my friend’s eccentricities and uber-planning for her transition; the humor in the book is relatable. The topic of death might be avoided as a discussion, but people want to know what to expect when their elders die and they will read about it, especially if it is presented in the lightest manner possible. People need to know that families can change when death occurs. When the last parent passes away, Baby Boomers can easily turn into babies again. After all, the parents aren’t there anymore to monitor their relationships!
Q: Have you begun writing the next book: Good to Go, Too (Other’s Stories)?
A: Yes. Almost every day someone will tell me about what happened to his or her family after a parent died. It’s heart-wrenching to think that so many adult siblings
are falling away from each other in their grief and once people see that this happens in other families, they want to open up and share. I’ve got a big file of others’ stories that is only getting bigger. Experts and professionals are stepping up with helpful information and solutions, too.