You may find this chapter helpful if you recognize yourself in some of these statements.

• You know you’re not going to “get better.” This is the new normal.

• You say “I don’t know who I am anymore,” if only to yourself.

• You’ve given up driving.

• People you’ve helped in the past are helping you now.

• You use hearing aids, a cane, a walker, a Seeing Eye dog, or a wheelchair.

• You need help with some chores of modern life, such as yard work and housework, shopping for groceries, doing your taxes, taking medications on time, cooking dinner, or making phone calls.

• Your health conditions aren’t annoyances anymore. They’ve changed how you live.

• You sometimes worry that you’re exhausting your family members.

• You’re considering moving into assisted living or in with a relative, or getting more help at home.

• You no longer call the shots around your house, and you know it.