In February, I had the pleasure of an in-depth conversation with Diane Rehm, veteran radio producer and host of the NPR/WAMU radio podcast “On My Mind.” Among other things, we talked about publication of my new book Finish Strong: Putting Your Priorities First at Life’s End.

Our conversation covered several interesting topics, such as:

• how our society is replacing humanity with technology;
• why advance directives are usually ignored in the case of sudden catastrophe;
• how to live your last precious months with joy;
• the importance of an ongoing dialogue with your family and doctors;  
• a new tool called the Dementia Decoder to help people plan a peaceful and timely escape from the nightmare scenarios that could be in store for them;
• the many ways religions and our bioethical system obscure what’s really happening at end of life, making it hard for people to be clear-eyed about charting their own end-of-life path;  
• how the discussion about the option of medical aid in dying if end-of-life suffering becomes unbearable can improve overall quality of life for all dying individuals;
• and what I would want to happen if I should suffer a sudden, massive stroke.

In other words, not the usual superficial chit chat you hear on talk radio! Since my mission remains empowering my fellow Americans to craft the end-of-life experience to match the life you’ve enjoyed, I hope this conversation can further that goal.

You can listen online to my entire 37-minute conversation with Diane Rehm at How To Have Your Best Death — And Why So Many Of Us Don’t or read the edited transcript below.

Read the full transcript here.

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