Hi Cindy, I was just about to open up a new email, but I thought I would send you a quick “hello.” Things are “fine” here and the only issue we had with the fires was some heavy smoke which didn’t last too long. I evacuated our two dogs (Jake and Loo) for a time, but not for long. I must say, though, that this unsteady feeling arose within me–and  [ Read More ]

I have touched on the complexities of grief issues before, but the movie “Rachel Getting Married” shows it so well. For those of you who have not seen the movie, I will give a short synopsis.  Kym is a twenty plus woman who is leaving her rehab residential care unit to come home for her sister, Rachel’s, wedding.  There is a lot of tension because everyone is worried about what  [ Read More ]

Today I received a YouTube video from my husband about a performance given at the British equivalent to “American Idol”. I started watching the video and this forty-seven year old, unemployed woman appeared.  She was trying out her singing in front of Simon Cowell – gulp!  I immediately felt sorry for her because I just knew that she was going to get blasted with sarcasm, etc., because she was not  [ Read More ]

I hope you all can assess the video about Susan Boyle on YouTube.  It is a classic example of how we stereotype people and forget to look beyond physical appearances. For those who cannot get the YouTube video, what happened is Susan Boyle started singing and the entire audience cheered and clapped.  Her voice was fantastic and amazing and all of that.  She definitely could give Elaine Paige a run  [ Read More ]

My friend Cecilia DeRico teaches how to find and use your voice.  She is also an actress originally from Sweden.  When she sent me her email announcing that the play she was in, “The Devil With Boobs,” was open for preview, I decided to go just because she is my friend and I wanted to support her. Things have been stressful around here and the last thing my husband–and I  [ Read More ]

I remember the summer after Katie died. I was back seeing clients and life was moving on whether I wanted it to or not. I was still grieving for my baby, but it wasn’t as intense as it was in the beginning. I heard about the Cirque du Soleil (www.cirquedusoleil.com is the official site to find out more about it, if you don’t know what it is) and for some  [ Read More ]

Have you ever wondered why you might have a specific emotion or way of thinking that just doesn’t make sense?  But there it is again and again. An old English friend of mine found my website, bought and read my book and contacted me through my email.  She then proceeded to tell me the story of her mother, who had a stillborn when my friend was only nine years old.  [ Read More ]

I remember the first time I understood the importance of an apology.  I was newly married to my husband.  We had just had an argument.  I was suffering greatly, feeling alone and angry.  I didn’t know how I was going to repair the damage of the words spoken. At the time, we were living in an apartment that was basically one long, large room.  The bedroom had a few steps  [ Read More ]

I was reading an article the other day about how our energy gets drained by other people and things in our lives.  The article was stating that we allow vital energy to be taken from us when we “tolerate” things and actions of people around us. For example, if you live in a messy home where things aren’t organized and there are papers piled high on your table so you  [ Read More ]

When my daughter Katie was stillborn in 1987, I immediately identified myself as a grieving mother.  I lived with this identity for years.  It went underground when my twins were born and I became very busy with their day to day care. However, when they became teenagers and didn’t need me so much, and in fact, rejected the fact that they even had a mother, my old identity of a  [ Read More ]