Grief & Remembrance
Geraldine Ferraro in Her Own Words
I had the great pleasure to know Geraldine Ferraro, the first female major party vice presidential nominee, who died Saturday. We met during the writing of my 2006 book “Always Too Soon,” which chronicles the stories of prominent people who have lost both parents. Ferraro lost her father when she was 8 years old….Continue Reading
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Parentless Parents – Best Tools for Remembering Our Parents
My dad would have been 73 in June. I often wonder what he would he look like if he were still alive. Would he still be working as an architect? Would he be traveling as much as he once did? My father died just three days after September 11th — his body, as I’ve shared here in earlier posts, was hijacked by a different kind of terrorist: Lung Cancer….Continue Reading
View Blog PostParentless Parents – Remembering Your Dad on Father’s Day
Father’s Day can be particularly challenging if you’ve lost your dad. I’m a mom of two young children, and my father passed away when my son, our oldest, was just 18-months-old. While I’ll be happily celebrating my husband and father-in-law this Sunday, part of me will also be grieving, even though it’s been nearly 10 years since my dad passed away….Continue Reading
View Blog PostParentless Parents – Strategies for a Better Mother’s Day
It’s often difficult to remember your mother and rejoice over your life as a mother at the same time. From nursery school on, we are trained to celebrate this holiday, first by making our parents cards out of construction paper and pipe cleaners, and later by buying them gifts. Our role as sons and daughters is clearly defined. And when we become parents, we also know what we’re supposed to do: receive all the attention…
View Blog PostGeraldine Ferraro: Personal Lessons from Another Parentless Parent
I had the great pleasure of knowing Geraldine Ferraro during the writing of my book “Always Too Soon.” She was exceptionally generous with me, and she never wavered in her enthusiasm for my project. In the most personal way imaginable, her outlook changed my life. This is my tribute to her….Continue Reading
View Blog PostParentless Parents – Why Writing About Grief Makes Me Happy
Several weeks ago my new book, “Parentless Parents,” was published. This is the third book I’ve written that deals with mourning and loss. And while you might assume I’d be the last person you’d want to meet at a cocktail party, I’ve been told otherwise. I smile; I laugh. You might even call me “bubbly.” Each book I’ve written is the result of successfully pushing through an unwanted and unanticipated experience, and using that experience…
View Blog PostParentless Parents – It’s My Birthday!
Yesterday was my birthday, and here’s what I did: 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.: Got birthday cuddles from kids. Opened birthday cards. Received small presents. Got kids off to school. Kissed husband. Felt lucky….Continue Reading
View Blog PostBeing a Parentless Parent -The Effect on You, Your Children and Your Marriage
Both of my parents have passed away, and little has shaped the way I raise my children or affected the relationship I have with my husband and in-laws more than the fact that my mom and dad aren’t here to be grandparents to my children. I am a parentless parent. Because women are having babies later and later, the number of parentless parents in America is skyrocketing….Continue Reading
View Blog PostParentless Parents -Teaching My Daughter About the Grandfather She Never Knew
I took my eight-year-old daughter to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City yesterday, and I’m still in an awesome mood. The art was great, of course. She enjoyed looking at the Pollock’s, Picasso’s and Warhol’s. But the real takeaway was what she learned about my father, her grandfather, the one grandpa she never met. My father went to museums as often as other dads might go to football games….Continue Reading
View Blog PostParentless Parents: The ‘I’ Factor
Outside my family and closest circle of friends, I’ve never told anyone that I stuttered when I was little. Stuttering was a deeply upsetting part of my childhood. It caused me to be made fun of, forced me into speech therapy while other kids went to gym, and completely shaped what I permitted myself to say in the class. Day after day I’d weigh the urge to raise my hand against the crush of embarrassment…
View Blog PostParentless Parents – Being Thankful on Thanksgiving
One of the most gratifying themes I uncovered researching and writing my forthcoming book “Parentless Parents: How the Loss of Our Mothers and Fathers Impacts the Way We Raise Our Children” is just how healing Thanksgiving can be for those of us who have lost our parents. Healing, you say? Aren’t the holidays just a painful reminder that our moms and dads can’t be with us to celebrate with our children? Continue Reading
View Blog PostWhat if Your Children Don’t Have Grandparents?
This coming Sunday is Grandparents Day, and while you may be skeptical about the influence grandparents have on grandchildren, let me tell you their impact is enormous and measurable. And it’s because of that that I know my children are missing out on so much. For years, experts have researched the influence of grandparents on the lives of grandchildren…Continue Reading
View Blog PostParentless Parents: Why is Mother’s Day so Hard?
Mother’s Day is this weekend and like most of you, I’ve gone shopping. Jewelry has always been my go-to favorite. Necklaces are easy to find, they come in all shapes and colors and, depending on the fluctuations to my bank account, I usually seem to find something to fit my budget. And yet I find the process so hard….Continue Reading
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The Granny Gap
What happens when Grandma and Grandpa aren’t around by the time you have kids? Here’s how to introduce your children to their memory. My mom and I had a ritual when I was young. After I was packed for school, I’d help her get ready for work. READ MORE
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A Refresh and a Reveal
As holiday decorations go up and lights twinkle in every direction I have something new and sparkly to share with you as well…two somethings, actually. I’m thrilled to unveil my new website! It’s not radically different. In fact, I intentionally refreshed rather than tossed. My intent is for you to get a sense of renewal (New Year’s is almost here!) while still feeling cozy in familiar surroundings. Please take a few moments to wander around,…
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Holiday Giving with Loved Ones in Mind
Maybe your shopping is finished. Chanukah, after all, is already in progress. If you’re searching for a few final things, I’d like to suggest two meaningful gift-giving ideas that will help keep the memory of your loved one alive. Make a Game of It Given how much we can do with technology these days, it would be a shame to not harness its benefits for children. Personalize a deck of cards with photographs of living…
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Gwyneth Paltrow and Lessons I’ve Learned From Her Kitchen
Gwyneth Paltrow has a lot to teach us about food and using it to keep the memory of loved ones alive, especially important I think around the holidays. In her cookbook My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness, the Oscar-winning actress writes why cooking is so important to her: “I always feel closest to my father, who was the love of my life until his death in 2002, when I am in…
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Make This the Year to Remember Intentionally
The clock struck midnight a week ago and just like that we got 365 new days full of promise. I’m a resolution person. I’m grateful for new beginnings. This year, I’ve decided to double down on my efforts to celebrate and honor loved ones intentionally. I’m on a mission. Join me! Whether it was last year or decades ago that you lost someone close to your heart, make this the year to do something that…
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Alan Rickman, David Bowie, and a National Call to Cure Cancer
This morning, my Facebook page filled with news that Alan Rickman, or as many of us will always remember him, Professor Snape, had passed away from cancer. Of course, this is not the only beloved artist to die of cancer this week. Just a few days ago the world learned David Bowie succumbed to cancer as well. These are the kind of stories that reverberate throughout social media. But they are also, sadly, nothing new….
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Top 5 Destinations to Remember Loved Ones
As I write this post, a Blizzard Watch is in effect for New York City, and a large section of the mid-Atlantic is bracing for a “potentially paralyzing” storm. This kind of weather makes me fantasize about heading someplace warm and drives me to think about travel in general. Ecotourism. Adventure travel. Volunteer tourism. Specialized travel allows us to build entire trips around particular needs and interests — caring for endangered animals, jumping out of…
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