And I held my documents, and I let the memory of a hospital chapel rise up quietly in my mind, and I prepared, at last, to open the door.

Chapter 11 — What I Did in Six Months

Because during those six silent months, while my family sent vacation photos and I sorted death certificates, I had not only been grieving.

I had, quietly and methodically, been putting my affairs in order.

I had revoked their access to every emergency contact list I was named on.

I had updated my living will.

I had my attorney strip my parents’ and my sister’s names from the property records they had assumed, without ever asking, would one day pass to them.