I was inspired to do this legacy work by the fact that I have not known as much about my parents lives as I would have wished and now, they are both gone. I realize i have lost a source of rich history, wisdom and meaning. My mother's life was too painful for her to speak about. Having worked with a focus on end of life and bereavement issues, I see what it means to people to leave something in their own writing for loved ones as much as it means for loved ones to have this left to them. I am a clinical social worker and lay Buddhist chaplain who has worked in the field of oncology, bereavement and end of life issues for the last 25 years. I am the author of Lasting Words: A Guide to Finding Meaning Toward the Close of Life and co-author of a forthcoming book, Opening to Grief due out in October, 2020