Have you marked your calendar? April 16th is coming. For those who don’t know, that’s National Health Care Decisions Day, a day to remind us to plan for health care decisions in advance of a health crisis. For any adult, young or old, healthy or sick, it’s valuable to consider the range of health care options you might face at the end of life and to make your wishes clear to your doctors and loved ones, to ensure what you want is what you get. And it’s also important that you appoint a trusted loved one or close friend to make health care decisions for you if you’re unable to make them for yourself. There are innumerable resources and organizations out there to help. To start, take a look at the agebuzz Helpful Resources page on advance care planning and click on the website of The Conversation Project, an organization dedicated to helping people consider their options and have important conversations about end-of-life decisions.

And this year there’s a terrific new book out to help you plan in advance. Written by journalist and author Katy Butler, The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life has just been published to rave reviews and for good reason. Inspired by her own experience with the death of her father, Butler has written an immensely readable book full of valuable, practical info and advice about how to ensure a good end to your life. Given that most people say they want to talk about end-of-life care, but few actually do, this book may give you the language and impetus to finally have this important conversation. For further motivation, take a listen to Butler as she shares her insights, experiences, and reasons for writing her book- you’ll likely learn how to not only ensure a good death but also how to live a meaningful life right now.