The purpose of this collective embedded qualitative case study was to examine the perspectives of three middle-aged independent-living African Americans who had participated in the process of advance care planning (ACP) and completed at least two advance directives (ADs), a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPAHC) and a Living Will (LW). The contention was supported-that generating a description of factors coresearchers considered when making end-of-life health care decisions, determining the potential influence of such factors on future learning, and revealing the meaning ascribed to the completion of advance directives, may assist in understanding the gap between adults who think advance care planning is a good idea and those who go on to complete advance directives. Acquiring multiple forms of qualitative data illuminated how secondary data may be generated to answer research questions while primary data emerges from examining constitutional aspects of the educational research process itself. Seven categories emerged from data analysis, which included: Impetus and Intentional Consequences (IIC), Frame of Mind (FOM), Great Expectations (GE), Heart's Desire (HD), Angels for Proxies (AFP), Sustainability (S), In Lieu of Knowing (ILK), and, I'll Keep Mine, Thank You Very Much (Thanks). The qualitative educational research experience in advance care planning, as an entity, rose up to intersect with, and to compliment analysis of the quality and applicability of a pluralistic theoretical framework for organizing existing knowledge and generating new knowledge in the area of advance care planning at the processual- and community-levels. A most significant finding was the revelation that participants' current health status was preceded, accompanied, or followed by, proactivity, or an acceptance of responsibility for managing personal health care. The educational research goal was then changed from striving to increase proactivity among other community-residing adults to targeting people who are already proactive health managers. Ultimately, the means was envisioned for potentially refining the research position and approach with a highly complex reiterative inquiry in the ACP domain. Limitations include only middle-aged African Americans, who are not health care workers, and who completed two specific ADs, in a large metropolitan city in the southwestern United States. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]