TABLE OF CONTENTS    

INTRODUCTION                                                                                 ix

CHAPTER ONE             Growing Up........................................................1

• Marriage and Children....................................................2
• Family Life........................................................................3
• Vacations and Holidays...................................................6

CHAPTER TWO            Life After Retirement........................................8

• Summer Home..................................................................9
• Getting on With Life........................................................10

CHAPTER THREE        My Father's Illness..........................................12

• Further Medical Testing.................................................14
• Diagnosis...........................................................................15
• Blood Pressure.................................................................16
• Chemotherapy Treatments............................................21

CHAPTER FOUR            My Husband's Illness....................................23

• Emergency Room.............................................................25
• Devastating News.............................................................27

CHAPTER FIVE              Chemotherapy Treatments..........................31

• Thanksgiving Holiday.......................................................33
• Clinical Trial.......................................................................34
• Progress..............................................................................35
• Christmas Holidays...........................................................36

CHAPTER SIX                  Starting a New Year.....................................37

• My Father's Setback..........................................................38
• Excessive Calcium..............................................................40
• Hospice Care for Dad..........................................................40
• Second Opinion....................................................................41
• Blood Transfusion...............................................................43
• My Husband's Setback.......................................................43

CHAPTER SEVEN             The Beginning of the End..........................47

• Terminal News....................................................................47
• Facing the Inevitable..........................................................48
• Coming Home.......................................................................50

CHAPTER EIGHT              Waiting for Death......................................51

• Death and Dying..................................................................52
• Death Calls for My Father..................................................53
• Funeral Arrangements.......................................................55
• Death Calls for My Husband..............................................58
• Eulogy for My Father..........................................................59

CHAPTER NINE                   A Second Funeral....................................61

• My Husband's Eulogy..........................................................63
• My Husband's Funeral........................................................64

CHAPTER TEN                     The Aftermath........................................66

• The First Summer...............................................................69
• Psychic Reading...................................................................70
• Our First Trip.......................................................................72

CHAPTER ELEVEN             More Family Illness and Tragedy........73

• Another Family Tragedy....................................................75
• Thanksgiving and More Family Tragedy.........................76

CHAPTER TWELVE             Recap.......................................................78

• Letter to the Oncologist......................................................79

CHAPTER THIRTEEN         The Pain of Loss.....................................82

• Flashbacks and Survival.....................................................83
• Special Birthdays.................................................................85

CHAPTER FOURTEEN          Reflection...............................................86

• Dating Again at Fifty...........................................................87  

GLOSSARY..............................................................................................91