I was very unprepared for it.

He was supposed to come home from the hospital.

And now I was in a very new place.

I'm 94 years old.

Judith Vioris is an acclaimed author, poet, humorist, renowned for her candid, witty

examinations of life's bittersweet realities.

Many know her from her classic children's book, Alexander, and the terrible, horrible,

no good, very bad day.

Yet, as the former chief of child psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health,

and the author of many books, she has built a significant reputation with her adult nonfiction works that

tackle aging, loss, and the complexity of relationships, including her newest book, Making the

Best of What's Left.

It's something I want to write about, something I needed to write about.

And yet, nobody really talks about it.

It was a mark of respect and love for our history.

You write about a certain urgency to really savor the moments that you have.

Making the best of what's left when you're too old to get the chairs re-apulsed.

Oh, that's beautiful.

I could be dead before the fabric arrives.

Mom first died when she couldn't work out how to prepare a legendary roast.

Mum died again when she asked me what my name was.

On the 10th of March, I'm died the final time, surrounded by her family.

...