By Susan Fielder
My book, My Living Legacy, is a workbook to leave your Legacy to loved ones, friends and family. Filling in the pages is a labor of love, and it is the most important book you will ever write. I came upon this project out of pain and grief, but mostly out of necessity.
My mother planned on living forever, it seemed, and then a wild card took us by surprise, and in a matter of weeks, she was gone. In a bedroom drawer, I discovered a simpler version of this book, one that I had given her three years earlier. The pages were a blank, pristine white, like clean sheets on a freshly made bed, unmarred by a restless sleeper. It lay empty, much like our bodies do without a spirit. I could only imagine what secrets had never been written, what wishes had never been shared. I was left in the wake of my mother's death to struggle with my brothers over details and deadlines, caught between fairness and futility. Nothing in this world truly belongs to us; rather we are entrusted as caretakers, shepherds in the field of life.
My hope is that the anguish of others will be diminished using this journal. So, I encourage you to take the time to fill this out, while the sun is still high in the sky. Leave a legacy to comfort your loved ones in the days and weeks after your death. On these pages, you can provide answers to the many questions that remain once you are gone. You can make sure you will not be forgotten. My Living Legacy is your living legacy... forever. Please leave it by your bedside, write in it as you would a journal and in your handwriting, leaving your wishes, your love notes, concerns, issues, joy, memories and moments that will be everlasting for years to come.
NOTE from Nan: You can purchase this book on our SHOP page under Books. I highly recommend it. We need to write important things down - before it's too late, regardless of your age today. Make it easier on your loved ones!