Advice: My partner is dying. How do we talk about it?

Lori GottliebNew York Times·20 Jul, 2026 06:00 AM6 mins to read"Sometimes people are surprised to learn that when one person in a marriage is seriously ill, grieving doesn’t start after the death occurs. Instead, both partners grieve throughout the illness, but often in their own ways." Illustration / Marta Monteiro, The New York TimesColumnist and psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb advises a reader who fears discussing end-of-life affairs will make her husband think she wants him gone. Question: My husband has terminal cancer, and I don’t know how much time I have left with him. I don’t know how to talk to him about end-of-life.