End of Life Planning

The Unwritten Letter

Michael Williams
4 min readAug 23, 2024

We all procrastinate from time to time believing there will always be a tomorrow. In this story, Tom Andrews keeps putting off an important task — recording his wishes and instructions for when he’s no longer around. Will Tom write this crucial letter or will time run out?

Image created by author using FLUX-schnell

Tom Andrews sat at his desk, staring at the blank sheet of paper before him. The words wouldn’t come. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried to write this letter — he’d started and stopped more times than he could count. But each time, he found a reason to put it off.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just after 9 p.m., and the house was quiet. His wife, Linda, was already asleep, and the soft hum of the dishwasher was the only sound that broke the silence. Tom sighed, running a hand through his graying hair.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to say. He knew exactly what needed to go into the letter. He had spent countless nights lying awake, thinking about how to say goodbye to his family and leave behind something that would comfort them when he was no longer around. But every time he sat down to write, something held him back.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he muttered to himself, folding the paper neatly and slipping it back into the drawer. He would start fresh tomorrow when his mind was clearer, when…

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Michael Williams
Michael Williams

Written by Michael Williams

I’m a storyteller, Story Coach, writer, Guided Autobiography Instructor, End-of-Life Planning Facilitator & podcast host. Oh yeah, I play ukulele.

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