I wrote my first blog post on May 9th, 2015. It was a letter to my son Jack on his eighth birthday. Since then, I have written every single Monday – nearly 500 new essays. Many of you have been reading about our journey for over a decade – the highs and lows of autism, […]
I have a closet in my heart. Do you know what that is? It’s a little storage area beneath your ribcage. You don’t choose what goes in there. The heart decides what to hold on to and what to let go. When we were kids, my mother made hot fudge sundaes if we had a […]
It’s late. Joe turns over beside me in bed. He mumbles something in his sleep. I envy his rest. My mind wanders, as it seems to every night at this time. I think of my son Jack. I feel an ache that is too familiar to describe. Autism grief is something that never quite disappears. […]
Little one. Let me hold you close. Here, now. Outside the window, November’s branches bend in the wind. There is an air of festivity in the hospital. Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. You are my third baby in as many years. Once we are home, life will feel busy. I long to hold […]
We begin to taxi toward the runway. I glance out the window. Clouds obscure any stars in the night sky. Be married on purpose. I said these four words just a few hours ago. I was speaking at a conference and a young woman asked me about strategies for keeping a marriage together while raising […]
The house is quiet. He comes downstairs and grabs a Tupperware container full of leftovers from the refrigerator. He plops down on the couch. In between mouthfuls, he shares small tidbits of his day. Baseball practice, the latest high school drama, the upcoming prom. My 18-year old son Charlie. My eyes are tired. I am ready […]
I am thrilled to announce that, after many hours in a teeny-tiny sound booth, the audio book for Half My Sky is available! You can order your copy here. There were quite a few moments that made me emotional during recording, but the following excerpt took a few attempts to read without tears. “After a […]
I grew up in a small community that was famous for two things: The Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center and Onion Town. Our house was situated between them equally if you measured by a crow’s flight. Knots on either side of Route 22 where the sun goes cold before dark. Onion Town was written up in […]
My husband Joe snores lightly beside me. I drift off to sleep. I think of flowers. Fields of pink, white, and yellow. Dozens of watering cans lined up in a row. I pick one up and walk toward the blossoms. I begin to water. She appears in front of me. She is younger than I […]
When I was about ten years old, my stepfather brought my mother a dozen red roses. It was the first act of romance I’d ever witnessed. She put them in a large silver teapot we kept in the pantry – a fancy-ish piece that seemed out of place beside our white Corelle dishes, the kind […]