The anniversary of the day I realized my dad was dying.

I’ll always be haunted by this date — October 20.

Exactly a year ago, my father stopped eating. He was undergoing an aggressive palliative chemotherapy regimen — orally he was taking over a dozen medications and simultaneously given IV chemo every few weeks. On this day, one year ago, his body couldn’t take it any longer. All of a sudden, he stopped speaking and eating. Overnight, something switched in his brain and he was suddenly cut off from the world. I felt a plethora of conflicting emotions — sadness, anger, and hopelessness. I…