“Not all those who wander are lost.” My father took his last breath at home. No hospitals, machines, wires or drugs. “I want to die peacefully in my own bed” he said. We honored his wish and with the help of a hospice nurse, he passed with all of us by his side. Moments before […]
He Protected Me From The Grave
She sat quietly on my bed, trying to calm my tears, as I wept into the pillow. We barely knew each other, but as my new roommate she was aware that my dad had recently died. She had heard me crying and came to check on me. I finally felt myself calming down and as my […]
How My Split Second Instincts Saved Me From My Attacker
He targeted me the moment I sat down. Did I look like easy prey as I was rushing to work? Unaware of him at first, I found a seat and took out my phone to listen to music on the way uptown. As the express five train left the hustle of Manhattan on that beautiful […]
The Other Mother-Confronting An Abusive Parent And Why It Is Your Business
Her words were so cruel I thought I must have heard wrong. I was rushing through Target to get some inexpensive flip-flops to wear around the house and had just begun scanning the shoe aisle when I first heard her voice. Her words, dripping with hate, seemed to fall without hesitation from her mouth. “Shut […]
Breaking The Silence-The Importance Of Talking To Our Children About Loss
Death was all around me. The first time was when I was seven years old and the phone rang at 2AM, disrupting our family’s peaceful sleep with that shrill, non-stop ring. It was as if the phone was screaming, “Get up and answer this call, now.” Nothing good ever comes from a 2AM phone call. […]
5 Things That Should Never Be Said To A Pregnant Woman On Bed Rest
It was pure hell. After seeing those two pink lines on that pregnancy test and feeling all the initial excitement and joy of finding out I was a mom-to-be, it was abruptly followed by a diagnosis of a condition called Hyperemesis (the same condition Duchess Kate helped put on the map), where I endured debilitating, unrelenting, […]
I Didn’t Breastfeed And I’m D*mn Proud!
So there I was at one of my first mommy play dates with my newborn baby in New York City’s beautiful Central Park, all of us moms sitting on blankets, homemade snacks in the middle of the circle, a ton of Bugaboo strollers parked near us, designer diaper bags sitting next to us that were […]
Searching For My Silver–Finding Beauty Within Tragedy
How can there ever be a silver lining to fighting a deadly illness? There can’t be, right? These were the questions swirling somewhere in the back of my mind that cold November when my always healthy and strong mom was very unexpectedly diagnosed with stage three cancer. I was trying to make sense of it […]