When my mother, LaVerne Fleming, heard the words “It may already be too late” after a grueling bout of pneumonia, she began an amazing change in her lifestyle that started with giving up smoking. That choice gained her years of life that would otherwise have literally gone up in smoke. She began taking care of herself, listening to her doctors and paying more attention to her relationships. Mom was always so full of life! She was a “Lucy” who loved to clown and make her friends laugh. Her sense of humor took her far, helping her cope during dark times. Yet because of the severity of her lung disease, known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), LaVerne eventually came face to face with a terminal diagnosis. My book focuses on her wise and witty sayings as she faced failing health and death. “We’re all going to die,” she said thoughtfully one day. “The difference between you and me is that I know what I’m going to die of.” Just as she approached death mindfully, wanting to know all the facts and fixes, this book includes detailed appendices documenting her illness and hospitalizations, edited together from information provided by her husband Luther L. Fleming and her doctors.