Michael Nesmith is a creative guru at Amazon—his official title being an art director.

Susan approached her husband, heart thumping, as he sat in their living room. Days earlier, on Valentine’s Day, she had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

The diagnosis felt like a death sentence. Pam Dahl had just driven four hours to visit her adult son, Derrick, at the southern Oregon group home where he received round-the-clock care.