I’m currently writing a character in my novel who is dying of a terminal illness. She knows she will die, and she has gone home to be made comfortable. She’s only 35 years old. The part that makes it even more challenging to write is that she has completely come to terms with her impending demise and is at peace with the world. She only wants to experience wonderful things and the things that make her smile, in her last weeks on earth. I try to imagine how this would be, how it would feel, and I admit, it’s tough to imagine. You would have to have gone through the stages of grief, acknowledged them, and set them free. Anger, denial, bargaining, etc. – you would shake their hands and bid them farewell. And how would you talk to you loved ones? The ones that will be left behind to start their own grief process from the beginning. How would you smile at them and tell them not to worry, not to be too sad, to celebrate your life and move forward? They wouldn’t be in the same place as you so it would be near impossible for them to understand.

Do you think it takes a very brave person to become this way near death’s end? Or do we all have the capacity to free our minds and be at peace with death?