Suddenly Alone : A Practical Guide to Prepare Yourself and Your Loved Ones for When You Are Suddenly Alone

If you were suddenly alone, could you wake up in the morning, operate effectively throughout the day as you performed the activities of daily living, retire self-assured at night, and repeat that process in the weeks, months, and years to come?

Could you today, without help from anyone, put your hands on all your financial records, legal documents, personal identification cards, insurance policies, medical records, prescriptions, computer logins and passwords?

Have you thought about what you will do or where you will live if you become incapacitated? Have you told anyone your wishes upon death? Are you doing everything you can to take care of yourself and live a healthy lifestyle?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions, congratulations. If you answered no to any or all of the above questions, why?

You do not have all the information needed at your fingertips. You do not know what you do not know. Someone else has managed all or most of your affairs for you until now, and now you are all alone. Have you thought about how a comprehensive “personal operating manual” could enable you to answer the above questions yes?

This book will help you develop such a manual.

Ken and Donna Wright compile in one easy-to-read volume a wealth of valuable, practical information to get your personal affairs in order. This is a book version of a seminar that Ken and Donna developed and taught many times to appreciative audiences over the past three years. They provide templates to be completed and optionally placed in acetates along with copies of important documents in a three-ring notebook. The notebook you create will serve as a reference document for you and your family members.

Ken and Donna observed couples who functioned well as a team and complemented each other’s skills, becoming devastated by the death of one of them. Aging and death are difficult to talk about, yet these inevitable life phases need to be planned for. As couples age, strengths of one partner can compensate for declining abilities of the other. Yet when all the tasks unexpectedly fall upon one person, it can be overwhelming.

The authors describe the necessary legal documents needed to protect your assets and specify your health directives. They describe choices to be made about handling your arrangements upon death. They provide templates where you can document your personal contact information, your daily activities, and the procedures to run your household. There are suggestions to make your home safe and your life healthy and fulfilling. When you can no longer live independently, alternatives are presented and steps are outlined to ease the transition.