“He got better at the end. He was talking properly again, eating well, and then he suddenly died.” Many of us can recall hearing or saying this about a relative or friend who passed away. The words ...

On her final day, 86-year-old A.M. looked up and began to speak. Her words were clear, her sentences coherent, and for a fleeting moment her daughter glimpsed the woman who had once been—well read, ...