I wonder how much of the awkwardness is shared by the elderly person you're speaking to, in situations like that - I mean, I've felt that kind of "oh shit probably shouldn't have brought that topic up" when talking to my gf's grandad, but that's rooted in my perspective as someone who is terrified of death and has *touch wood* very little experience of it (I've never had a close family member die). Does it upset a man who was a GP for most of his life, who's seen his wife die recently, who's been living with terminal cancer that the doctors all thought was going to kill him years ago, to hear about death? Or does it just upset me to think about it? Idk.

What do you think of The Left Hand of Darkness, so far? I read it as part of a general binge on Le Guin's stuff, and didn't really get why it's the one held up as the classic - although interesting, it felt dated and kind of like it was only the first step in her thinking on the subject, to me.

Sympathies re. the mouth pain :/ I suffer really badly from mouth ulcers, always have, and when they descend on me the pain just puts my whole face on edge. Hope everything clears up soon.