I’ve followed Mark Evanier’s blog for a long time, and I’ve been a fan of his writing for even longer, going back to his old CBG column. His blog is always interesting, frequently entertaining, and often informative. He recently wrote a very moving post titled The Advocate, about the role he had to play in helping his friend Carolyn in her last days, and more generally about the role of “the advocate” in general. I’ve been in this position a couple of times myself, and it’s not easy. I honestly think I did a lot of stuff wrong when I had to manage my Mom’s last few months of life. But I know I did a few things right, and I hope those are the things that really mattered. Anyway, his post is great, and very moving, and has some good advice in it. I recommend that everyone read it, though maybe hold off for a bit if you’re someplace where crying would be awkward, because there may be a little crying.