About Torrance K. Jackson
Torrance K. Jackson is a fifth-generation funeral director whose perspective has been shaped by a lifetime around funeral service and generations of families experiencing loss.
His family’s funeral-service legacy spans approximately 100 years. Through that experience, Torrance has seen what happens when families have important conversations before a death — and what can happen when those conversations never take place.
He has witnessed families struggle to answer questions about wishes, important documents, finances, family responsibilities and what their loved one truly wanted. But he has also witnessed something equally important: the way stories, memories and meaningful conversations can completely change the atmosphere surrounding death.
Those experiences helped shape Being Able to Live.
Torrance believes preparation should not begin with fear of dying. It should begin with recognizing the life we are still able to live. Preparing can mean saying something that needs to be said, preserving a story, organizing important information, communicating our wishes and making decisions today that may leave fewer unanswered questions tomorrow.
“Don’t save every meaningful word for a funeral.”
The Philosophy
The goal isn’t to have every answer. The goal is to leave fewer unanswered questions — and to make meaningful use of the time we have now.
Torrance K. Jackson
Where Being Able to Live Began
After years of sitting across from families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, Torrance began recognizing the same questions, regrets and challenges appearing again and again.
People wished they had asked more questions.
They wished they knew where important information was located.
They wished they understood what their loved one wanted.
And sometimes, they simply wished they had said something while they still had the opportunity.
Being Able to Live grew from a simple question:
What if we had more of these conversations before the funeral? That question became a philosophy, a book and a growing collection of conversations and resources designed to help people prepare with greater intention — and make more meaningful use of the life they have now.