So many people choose silence after the immediate wake of a death out of fear of saying something out of turn or "bringing up bad memories" that bereaved people often feel forgotten.

It is so tempting to return rudeness with rudeness!

Arm yourself with as many options as possible before making your next move.

Some people give gifts in order to bewilder, confuse, and manipulate their recipients.

Your partner cannot fault you for refusing to host a perpetual-motion party or for the fact that you must sleep and will eventually die.

You, too, will someday die, perhaps under inconvenient circumstances, at a time when you do not particularly wish to, and for causes that you cannot yet predict.

Letting events end is not rude. Everything ends.