A few years ago, Kat Reed discovered a gaping void in the market for people who have experienced a major void in their lives.
When her mother died suddenly in June 2007, Reed scrambled to help with not only the arrangements and her ailing dad, but also everything that was left behind. Even though the longtime bookkeeper is a highly organized person, all the details and chores that ended up on her spreadsheet proved overwhelming -- basically, too much of a bad thing.
Reed, a cheerful, open-faced woman with a signature floppy hat, was only slightly better prepared when her father died about a year later.
She considered putting the spreadsheet on her website to help others when a close friend suggested that Reed write a book on the subject instead. Reed thought it was a crazy idea -- at first.
"I looked and looked, and there was nothing on the market like this, with general directions," she said. "Hospices, caregivers, I talked to everyone who would talk to me, and they all said, 'We need a book like this.'"
Thus was spawned "Begin Here: Helping Survivors Manage" ($20), a guidebook/workbook covering everything from bills and pills to wills. She even delves into little-thought-about items such as magazine subscriptions, pest control and, of course, thank-you notes.
In compiling the book, experience was Reed's best teacher.
"When my mom died, my dad and I looked at each other every day and said, 'How do people without family do this?'" she said. "My dad couldn't even get on the phone. He was a basket case. When you're going through this, you can't think."
