I have written many books which feature original art and original short stories-but after a pancreatic cancer scare (fortunately misdiagnosed), my son Stott suggested this as a topic for a book. My dear sister, Mary Ellen, advised me she didn't want to hear "death" in the title, hence the clever tease. It's apt. Actually some of the stories are hopeful, even funny.

Some do deal with final days. Others address renewal. But what I discovered in this exercise is that nothing is more important. Life should not be about shopping sprees, escapism, and goofball sitcoms. So I did it? and a day before my chemotherapy, my esteemed doctor declared, "it's not cancer."