My son packed my suitcase and ordered me into a nursing home so he could sell the house my late husband built. At eighty-one, I was sleeping on a folding bed while he and his wife occupied my bedroom. “Sign it over and leave by Friday,” he said. I sipped my tea. “Ask the owner first.” He laughed—until Friday morning, when he opened the door and recognized the person standing there with the keys.

My son placed my suitcase beside the front door and told me I had until Friday to move…