L.S. (Life Story) 653-87

Planning the end of life requires looking death in the eye and stating: 'You will come, but on my terms.' Ma'ira was childless and lived alone, turning her solitude into a fortress of independence.

Drafting her continuous power of attorney, we didn't discuss money; we discussed dignity. She wanted to ensure that if her mind failed her, no one would feed her foods she hated or turn off the music she loved. We wove her heartbeat into dry legal formulas: who would tend her plants, what would happen to her artwork, which medical treatments she accepted, and where she wished to be buried.

When signing her will, she exhaled deeply: 'Now,' she said with a trembling yet amused voice, 'I can begin to live.' Knowing her wishes would be honored gave her the confidence to write the final chapter of her story as its heroine.