7 Critical Conversations for the Season of Now

                                                                                                         

NEW BOOK BY PASTOR AND FINANCIAL PRO OFFERS ADVICE ON HOW TO  MAKE END-OF-LIFE PLANNING A GIFT TO THOSE LEFT BEHIND  

By Stan Craig 

Yes, you are here today.  You can pay your bills, plan dinner, get the kids off the bus, and take your parent to the doctor…. everything goes according to plan.  But what if you were gone tomorrow?  No warning, no planning, no you.  Gone. 

Based on the popular seminar the same name, ForeTalk: 7 Critical Conversations for the Season of Now, is a unique new book by Stan Craig, a financial and religious advisor, which will be released in February 2013.  It provides direction on how to outlive your life and create a positive and lasting legacy.  In ForeTalk, Craig offers levity and sensitivity while addressing an issue that no one wants to talk about—death.  From health care directives, durable powers of attorney, wills, hospice and ways to celebrate a life well-lived, to conversations about end-of-life issues, insurance, childcare, trusts and philanthropy, ForeTalk is the complete, must-have guide for anyone who has anything or anyone that will be left behind.  It encourages action on a topic that begets ignorance. 

“When my younger brother was dying of lung cancer, I quickly became aware of all the things we had never discussed during his forty one days of hospitalization,” said Craig.  “Even with all my experience as pastor and financial professional, I was totally unprepared and had no knowledge of all that is required when death comes unexpectedly to someone you love.  I couldn’t find guidance in any book.  ForeTalk has answers to help ease the anxiety that every family experiences when illness and death come near.”
ForeTalk is made up of nine easy-to-read and uncomplicated chapters.  Each chapter ends with a guide for the reader to complete.  There are seven critical conversations that we all must have with our loved ones—the messages apply to newlyweds, new parents, boomers, single people, veterans, anyone with a pet, the sick, healthy and the elderly.  Each of the seven is presented with ideas to make every conversation one of ease and grace.  The themes are complete with personal stories, humor, quotations and practical suggestions to help begin the dialogue. The seven critical conversations are designed to change what is often seen as a difficult task to a series of easy and meaningful conversations with those you care about most. From how to begin the conversations to how to make each day count, the chapters and guides make what was once difficult and challenging, a pleasant and life-affirming experience.  ForeTalk is a much-needed gift for those you love most. After all, ‘foretalk’ is much better than hindsight.

ForeTalk includes the following themes and more:

• Ways to identify financial strategies to create a lifetime income for your heirs
• How to find the right attorney for your family’s needs
• How to create a well-written will which will withstand challenges
• How to find the right person as your executor, power(S)of attorney for finance and health care
• Tips to plan a funeral or memorial service that will tell your own story
• How to save thousands of dollars for your family on funeral expenses
• What a Living Will, Hospice and Palliative Care may mean to you
• How to draft the most important letter of your life
• Truths and myths about burial and cremation
• Ten estate-planning mistakes 

Stan Craig is a pastor, financial professional, author, speaker and the executive director of a non- profit foundation.  His new book, ForeTalk: 7 Critical Conversations for the Season of Now and the ForeTalk Seminar are the direct result of his personal experience when his younger brother died of lung cancer and Craig was unprepared to handle his brother’s end-of-life planning. 

Craig holds degrees from University of Kentucky, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and Th.M.) and the Wharton School. Craig has served as minister of youth, associate pastor and senior pastor of churches in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Vancouver, BC, Canada.  He took early retirement from Merrill Lynch in 2001 and is currently a Financial Advisor Consultant for Supernova, Inc.   Craig is a fifteen-year member of the National Speakers Association and has presented to executives and dignitaries in every U.S. state, Canada, Europe, Africa, Middle East, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.   He is co-author of the books Leadership Defined and One Best Idea and serves as a seminary trustee and member of the financial board. He and his wife, Gloria, have six children and eight grandchildren and currently live in Louisville, Kentucky.

ForeTalk is available for pre-order now or purchase in February 2013 at Amazon.com, as well as other online booksellers.  To learn more visit: http://foretalkseminar.com/