No one can be adequately prepared to receive a phone call saying your loved one is dying a slow but inevitable death.

Yet on that day, as I looked out my office window in Atlanta, savoring the changing of the seasons, the wonderful show of colors of the turning leaves, and a gradual shift to the approaching early darkness of winter, I received the call from a doctor in New York City saying that my only sibling, Elliott, had been diagnosed with stage IV liver cancer, with a prognosis of three to six months to live.

That unexpected phone call began a series of emotional and obligatory responses that set the stage for what would become the walk to eternity with my older brother, and the managing and organizing his affairs. The Escort is a true account of the process of engagement and interactions with family, friends, physicians, social workers, and others to help my brother prepare for his inevitable entry into the unknown.

Walking to Eternity With My Brother gets to the core of family conflict, compassion, and forgiveness during the last episode of a man’s life. It is also a story about taking care of the “business” beyond the grief.

In the end, my brother died sooner than expected. But, in the process of his dying, his adult children managed to reconcile long-held uncertain feelings about their relationships with their estranged dad and among themselves.

About the Authors

A sociology professor, Terry L. Mills teaches courses in health and aging. Antonia Mills is a retired public health administrator. They live in Atlanta, and enjoy traveling and bird watching.