Shumita Basu

Their only option was to pay out of pocket for Tina's care, which they couldn't afford full-time without going deeply into debt.

You outline this in so many different stories in the book, but so many people are left in this position of, I need to go to work.

I also cannot leave my spouse at home by themselves.

You describe one scene where

with Ben and Tina where Ben had to leave Tina alone all day and basically try his best to surround her with things that she might need within easy reach.

But one day it became really clear that that was just not a tenable option for them.

Can you tell us a little bit about what happened?

Sure.

I want to make sure that we briefly talk about this other couple that you introduce us to in the book, Angel and Kim.

And they're very different from Tina and Ben in that it isn't a slow, slow over the years kind of progression and evolving of a condition, but...

Angel had a stroke at the age of 59 very suddenly and found himself a disabled veteran.

But because he was not disabled during his service, he wasn't eligible for VA care.

Can you talk a little bit about what their lives looked like when this happened and kind of the sudden realizations they felt like they had to make as a couple?

While Angel and Kim were struggling to make ends meet, they were also going through a major transition at home, adjusting to a life where Angel was now in a wheelchair and unable to use one of his arms.

After the stroke, Angel spent six weeks in rehab, but Kim felt that once they were sent home, they were on their own.

The first few weeks of Angel's return home were hard.

Someone from the rehab facility had come to install a shower chair, but they'd set it up backwards, and Angel fell while Kim tried to get him in for the first time.

Slowly, they learned to adjust, but spirits were low.

And that suicide pamphlet, Angel understood why it was given to him.

But in time, Angel and Kim settled into a new normal.