In which I write to my mother and read some poems she wrote in 1987. ‘What is the matter with aloneness anyway?’ she wrote in 1987. Thank you to Lexi for feedback before sharing. Thank you to Anna for letting me hold your baby. Thank you to S for keeping
In which I take a deeper look into the self-acceptance work my mother did and also appreciate the beauty of a Korean spa and friendship. With gratitude for small moments of joy, such as chitchatting with friends on long walks, thrift stores, walking up hills, shooting around, going on the
In which, I veer off from the aim of this newsletter and share an essay I wrote about my father's death. Special thanks to Deirdre's 2014 magazine writing class and Gaurav Madan for feedback ten years later. Very brief Josie update & photo at the bottom!
In which I examine a piece of writing on how Josie got her dream job at Peninsula, thanks to the supportive community around her. This one is a little long, skip to the end for a chicken story and a recent photo of mom. Dear Mom, Well, at the beginning
In which I share a draft of an essay about my mother's first trip to India, and the next trip when she met my father. Skip to the end for a recent photo of Josie. In gratitude to my dear friends for supporting me with small gestures of
Dear Mama, I miss you often around my birthday. It was around my birthday in 2018 that i received five birthday cards from you — mostly on different days. And then a call a few days before my birthday sealed the suspicion that wires had been crossed in your brain capacity.
In which I share a draft of an essay about friendship, love, a cottage, and a blue couch. Written sometime in 2022. Skip to the end for a recent photo of Josie. When I think of home, the room that appears in my mind is the kitchen of Jane and
In which I marvel at the passage of time, birthdays, and garden metaphors. April 15, 2024 Berkeley, Calif. Dear Mama, Happy 80th Birthday! Wow, time flies when you are having fun, huh? For your birthday I went to the clay studio, made myself an art cart, and went to a
In which I go looking for tiles in India and re-discover my mother's love of mandalas and some poetry-letters she wrote after my grandmother died. Special thanks to Zuzana Zweibel (and Ayurveda Trails) for suggesting the hotel; Kathleen Flynn for in-person support and stories; Lykke Li and Jon
In which my Josie-mama thinks I am her sister and I find a letter my mother wrote to her sister after she died in my mother's arms. Buckets of appreciation to the great Gaurav Madan and lovely Lexi Spencer-Notabartolo for reading early drafts. And an extra dose of
This essay was written in 2020, and revised in Italy at a Yoga & Writing retreat in 2021 (Thank you Jill Filipovic and On the Ground Retreats; read a recent piece of hers for Ms. on what she is reading on Gaza and Israel). It appeared in Placeletter Substack in
Optional listening while reading: New Beginning by Tracy Chapman Dear Mom, I have been trying to figure out how to tell people that the doctor at your assisted living facility referred you to hospice care — meaning that based on your weight loss and decline, you are expected to be gone