Die Like a Pro

By Black Stars Press

The grief when we lose a loved one, no matter how or when it happens, is often all-consuming.

We spend months or years in heartache and shock, struggling to navigate this world without them: a life that’s both hauntingly familiar, and wholly unlike anything we’ve experienced before.

Complicating this grief process is the fact so many unknowns remain.

What bills did our loved one have on autopay, and from which accounts?

Should we close their social media pages? How do we even do that?

What happens to their pets, or that treasured coin collection in their attic?

The fact is, legal documents like wills only go so far in giving answers. Sure, we know they’d have preferred a traditional funeral, but do we know what music they wanted played at the service? What poems were special to them?

Alternatively, do we know they wanted a funeral, versus a celebration of life, or ash ceremony?

While the large details are often laid out neatly for us—who gets the house, what happens to the investment accounts—it’s those smaller facets that trip us up.

And it’s these details, more than anything, that people forget to include in their post-death plans.

This brief but comprehensive guide covers far more than the grieving process itself. It delves into the importance of planning for our own deaths, unpleasant as that thought may be, so that we can leave our loved ones with thorough, detailed road maps to navigate their loss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Stars Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005176174

Black Stars Press

Black Stars Press Publishing was founded in Minnesota in 2016 by Jim O’BrienInspired by the "Advice and How-To" idea, Black Stars Press begun publishing short guides in the Life&Times series. In recent years our list has broadened substantially and now includes distilling books, home brewing journals, meat smoking (BBQ) logbooks, end of life planners, bucket lists, coloring book for adults, bird watching journals, meal & activity log trackers, funeral guest books, weekly meal planners, etc.

Book preview

DIE

LIKE

A PRO

Why You Need More Than Just a Will

Published by Black Stars Press at Smashwords

Copyright © 2021 Black Stars Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Smashwords Edition,

License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

What Is This Book About?

Chapter 1. First Things First: Coping with Life Immediately After Loss

Some Action is Necessary

Deal with the Big Rocks First

The Odds and Ends

Do I Have to Get Rid of Their Stuff Immediately?

Chapter 2. The Stages of Grief

Grief-Induced Depression

The Final Stage: Acceptance

A Winding Path: Grief is Not Linear.

The Type of Loss Matters, Too

Chapter 3. It’s Not Just In Your Head: The Biochemical Grieving Process

How the Brain Changes During and After Grief

Survival Mode

Why Can’t I Remember Them?

The Physical Changes of Loss

The Consequences of Not Grieving Properly

Get Your Groove Back

Some Change Is Good—and Necessary

Can These Changes Be Prevented?

Chapter 4. Plan for the Inevitable

Play The Odds

The Basics You Need for an After-Death Plan

Encourage Your Loved Ones to Make Their Own After-Death Plans, Too

Chapter 5. Stuck on the Details

Possessions

Finances

Children

Pets

Social Media

Chapter 6. Write It Down

Tell Someone

Start Early

Conclusion

Introduction

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know.

"It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things."

-Lemony Snicket

Losing a loved one is never easy.

The tangled web of grief must be picked apart and worked through one small piece at a time, and knowing just how to do that is tough. Complicating matters