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My wife, who was my best friend, died of an incurable disease on October 10, 2024. She had been my friend for 60 years. We were married for 54 of those years.

Joey (Joanne) Cain was more than my wife, more even than my best friend. For 54 years we were never apart for more than two weeks – not ever. Nor do I believe either of us ever wanted to be. When she died on my 77th birthday, I was holding her hand and saying, “I love you.” When I let go of her hand, a bond was physically broken.

Going from that kind of duality to an enforced aloneness, after so many years, I was for a while a mere facsimile of myself. I went through life’s necessary motions; the facsimile even had fun sometimes. But the real me, the me inside my head, was in agony: lonely, living on my own for the first time in my life; guilty, wondering what more or different I might have done to prolong, perhaps even save, her life; haunted by my memories of her suffering as well as memories of the many, many good times.

Time, it is said, heals all wounds, but that’s a false platitude. It is true, however, that the wound scabs over and, as the walking wounded… we walk on.

But where to?

In the wake of Joanne’s death, I felt compelled to preserve the relationship with my beloved wife and friend, if possible, and so I embarked on a year-long investigation of the potential ways to do that. Only Human is an exploration of what it means to be human, and what our prospects are for extending existence beyond our bodies’ lifespan.

EXPECTED MAY 1st, 2026.