Dear Friends,

Last month one of the Elderly Project’s funders reminded me about the work of an organization that I discussed in an e-mail to you at this time last year, The Conversation Project.  This Project, whose aim is to get people talking about end-of-life choices, reports on its website that:

• 90% of people say that talking with family about end-of-life choices is important — but only 27% have done so; and
• 82% of people say that putting end-of-life wishes in writing is important — but only 23% have done so

Yesterday, The Conversation Project posted on its blog a list of “12 Clever Ways to Talk About Death Over the Holidays,” which you can read by clicking here. My belief is that such conversations often feel hard to begin, but once they get going, people have a lot to say.  So please consider trying to start one tomorrow, or sometime next month.

Meanwhile, on this Thanksgiving Eve, I want to express my gratitude to you for all of the referrals that you continue to make to the Elderly Project for wills and advance directives.  Each referral gives us, and our volunteer lawyers, the opportunity to speak with seniors of modest means about end-of-life planning and to help those seniors put in place advance-planning documents that give them peace of mind.

All the best for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving,
Alex