Two books. One shelf. For the same family.
The planner is what they need to know. The journal is who you were.
Somebody in the family is going to be standing in your kitchen one day with no idea where anything is. Which drawer, which lawyer, which password, who to call first. These two books exist so that day goes the way you would have wanted it to go — and so the story that goes with the paperwork doesn’t get lost in the drawer.
Book 1 · The planner
What My Family Needs to Know
A Fill-In End-of-Life Planner and Organizer — Where Everything Is, Who to Call, What to Do, and My Final Wishes When I’m Gone
Everything your family will need to find, in one bound book built to be written in. Fifteen fill-in sections: the people to call, the accounts and where the passwords live, the house, the insurance, the doctors, the pets, the funeral, and a section the free version doesn’t have: your final wishes, the personal ones.
- 8.5 × 11 paperback, 84 pages, lies flat enough to write in
- Large type, generous lines, cream paper that takes a pen
- Who to notify, getting into the accounts, the words your family will hear, a yearly review page
- Independently published · ISBN 979-8-17853-350-5
Book 2 · The journal
What My Family Should Remember
My Story, in My Own Words, for the People I Love — A Guided Life Story Journal and Memory Keepsake
When someone is gone, the family finds the papers eventually. What they never find is the rest: how you met, what the kitchen smelled like, why there is a chipped blue bowl nobody may throw out. This book asks for those things one specific day at a time, in ten sittings, and gives you the room — and the permission — to answer in your own hand. It is the one that gets finished.
- 7 × 10, 190 pages · paperback or hardcover
- Eighty-four full-page questions, a letter before you begin, two pages for every person you name
- A guide for a son or daughter who would rather ask the questions than hand over a pen
- Independently published · ISBN 979-8-16004-442-2 (paperback) · 979-8-16033-011-2 (hardcover)
Which one first?
If you only buy one, and the person is well, buy the planner. It is the one the family will reach for at two in the morning. If the person is older and the practical paperwork is already somewhere, buy the journal — it is the one they will reach for at Christmas, for the rest of their lives.
Most families end up with both, and the reason is simple. The planner answers the questions a stranger could ask. The journal answers the ones only you can.
Buying for a group
Hospices, home care agencies, elder-law practices, financial advisors, funeral homes, parishes, and senior centers hand these out. If you want fifty or more of either book, or sets of the two, get in touch through the About page and we will arrange a direct order at a lower price than Amazon’s.
Changelog. 6 Oct 2026: page created for the two-book “What My Family” series. 15 Oct 2026: all three editions published; buy links now point to the live Amazon listings.
Last verified: 15 October 2026.
These books are personal organizers and keepsakes. They are not legal, financial, or medical advice, and they do not replace a will, an advance directive, or a conversation with a professional.