Over the weekend, my daughter and I volunteered at a local event. She earned enough tickets to “buy” an old-school etch-a-sketch—the kind with the knobs you twist to draw. The next morning, I saw it beside her bed, and she had written: “Word of the day: kind.”

Something had happened the day before that hurt her feelings. And I think that was her way of reminding herself to respond with grace.

This week’s episode is about someone else’s daughter. And it’s about the laws that can take away our ability to make decisions, even when we think we’ve made them.

When your child legally becomes an adult at age 18, a lot changes. 

You can still pay their tuition, keep them on your health insurance, pack their favorite snacks for the dorm. But in a medical emergency, you don’t have a right to their healthcare information.

Sadly, most parents don’t realize this until there’s an unexpected crisis.

Today on The Death Readiness Podcast, I share the stories of two young women whose families fought landmark legal battles because neither had signed an advance healthcare directive before tragedy struck. Their stories made national headlines, and they also left a legacy we can learn from.