Before All Is Said and Done: Practical Advice on Living and Dying Well

For a culture that finds it difficult to talk about the end of life, Before All Is Said and Done is the roadmap we all need to navigate the practicalities of death while experiencing shock, loss, and grief. --Lee Woodruff, NYT Bestselling author

The notion of planning for one's death is intrinsically at odds with our human instinct to avoid considering our own mortality. Although we may contemplate the grief that our life's impermanence would cause to our loved ones, we seldom consider the myriad of emotional and legal issues that can arise afterward.

Before All Is Said and Done begins with the experience of author Pat Miles Zimmerman and her husband, Charles Bucky Zimmerman. Pat and Bucky were fully set for life but, regrettably, not set for death. After Bucky's death from an abrupt and short illness, Pat found herself with a plate full of unanticipated emotions, decisions, and legal problems.

But, as she spoke with other widows, she learned she was not alone in finding herself adrift after losing a spouse. The shock and grief that erupt from such a loss do not create a state of mind fit for navigating the numerous challenges that follow an unexpected death.

Pat Miles Zimmerman will prepare us for the oft-ignored problems that run in tandem with somber situations:

The shock of loss and what to expect

Facing a potential cognitive decline

Finding support and healthy grieving

Family disputes and blended family issues

Caring for yourself after the loss

Although we may initially shirk away from the notion of our life's transience, it is powerfully beneficial to ready ourselves and our loved ones for every stage of life -- and death. Before All Is Said and Done weaves the definitive path on how to be set for both.

PAT MILES ZIMMERMAN, Esteemed for her professionalism by viewers, listeners, and her colleagues, the versatile Pat Miles became one of the Minneapolis region's premier television news anchors and radio talk hosts. After earning her master's degree in journalism at the University of Missouri, Miles worked in both radio and television news in Colorado before joining WCCO TV in 1978 as a reporter and weekend anchor. Her intelligent reporting and authoritative delivery soon brought her to the anchor desk of WCCO's 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM newscasts. She covered every major news event for WCCO TV but was most proud of A Time to Weep, her documentary on the famine in Africa. In 1990, she moved to KARE TV, where she anchored the 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM newscasts and developed A Pat Miles Special, using her writing and interviewing prowess to tell the stories of notable Minnesotans. When she left TV news in 2001, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by becoming the host of The Pat Miles Show weekday mornings on WCCO Radio. A role model for women in the industry, she has received numerous honors for her work in broadcasting and in the community, including the National Television Academy's Silver Circle Award.

SUZANNE SPARROW WATSON earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and English Literature. She began her career working for a real estate development company in Fair Oaks, California, writing and designing advertising campaigns. After returning to her native San Francisco Bay Area, she entered the human resources field, working for a commercial insurance company. She was eventually recruited by Bank of America to develop management training programs. Over an eighteen-year career with the bank, she held increasingly responsible positions supporting a wide range of the bank's businesses. She retired in 2002 as Executive Vice President of Human Resources for the Consumer Bank. In 2004, she wrote her first book, In the Enemy's Camp. The book weaves together historical events with the experience of her husband and his family, who endured three and a half years as prisoners in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines during World War II. In 2012, she began writing the blog, From a Bird's Eye View, which she co-authors with her brother, Bob. Every Monday, they post a short essay about travel, life's little observations, or anything that strikes their fancy -- other than politics.