Book ~ "The Other Talk: A Guide to Talking with Your Adult Children about the Rest of Your Life" (2014) Tim Prosch

From AARP ~ It was a rite of passage for you to have the Talk with your kids about the beginning of life (as in the birds and the bees). As you get older, though, you need to have the Other Talk — that is, about the end of life. And you need to have it now, not after a crisis hits.

With this book, you can take control of your life so that when the time comes, your kids can make decisions based on what you want. The Other Talk gives you the inspiration, practical advice and communication tools you need to have open, honest discussions on tough subjects. Unlike other books that help adult children who are thrust into a decision-making role, this unique approach gives you, the parent, the tools you need to develop a strong partnership with your kids to plan for your later years. 

• Who do you want to help manage your finances, and how will you budget for unknown needs? 
• If you need some form of assisted living, where do you want to live? 
• Where can your children find the documents and information they’ll need to help? 
• What type of medical treatments do you want — and not want — and who will advocate for your needs? 

The Other Talk helps you address and answer those and other questions in a calm, measured way — freeing you up to enjoy your life and your family.

I work in the preretirement industry so enjoy reading books about retirement and retirement planning.  This one encourages a discussion between aging parents and their children so if anything happens, the children will know what to do to take care of their parents.

Do you want to be on life-support and your life artificially postponed?  Will you be able to face the fact that you can't drive anymore?  If you get dementia, who will take care of your financial matters?  Will you continue to live in your house or will you have to move to a retirement home or in with your children?  Will you have enough money since we are living longer than past generations?  These are just some of the things this book brings to mind that you should discuss with your children.  Yes, they are touchy subjects but it's good to have your wishes expressed and written down in case something does happen to you so your children will know what to do.  Otherwise, they might do something you wouldn't have wanted them to do and this could cause even more tension.

There are quotes from participants of focus groups providing real life experiences and thoughts.  In addition, there are online resources and tools and tips in the appendices (though they are American, they will give you some ideas to search in your country).

It's a good book to get you thinking about getting your affairs in order.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.