Waipahu author says ‘Nobody plans for the end of life. And we need to’

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Author Annette Kam reminds people of the most difficult aspects of planning for the end of life in her book titled, “Wait- Don’t Die Yet!”

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After Kam’s father passed away in 2018, the ordeal of putting her father’s affairs in order was the motivation behind the book she authored.

“I realized how many people think that just having legal paperwork is enough. And it’s not,” she told KHON2. “It’s all the little mundane things that people just don’t think about,”

“Wait- Don’t Die Yet!” is a step-by-step guide that can be used as a checklist of names and numbers of people to effectively help a caregiver or a family member.

“We got everything…you can think of,” Kam said. “Everything from who your plumber is to ‘do you have any pets?’ and ‘who’s the pets going to go to?’ little things like that, which isn’t really little things,”

Kam says she journals and had written over 150 items that she did not know and wished she had known before her father’s death. She recommends writing five minutes a day to build the habit of writing more.

According to Kam, broaching the topic of asking for information can be challenging, but she encourages people to approach in a gentle manner.

“We need to talk about our fears and concerns while we can,” she said. “In a gentle way. Caring, gentle, loving way.”

Kam offers her book for free. Get it here.