Today is my Uncle Dave’s birthday. He would be seventy-four. My mom’s younger brother died earlier this month, after battling complications from a single lung transplant. He takes with him a vast trove of memories and shared stories only he could retell, many of my mom. She
Read more →Last summer I lost my dad to heart disease. He was almost 83, and in declining health. He died twice. The first time, he was rescued by a band of courageous Good Samaritans. Their bravery afforded my family and me a chance to say goodbye, and to
Read more →My family and I lost two friends recently. For the sake of protecting their identities, I’ll call them Cheryl and Paul. They died rather young—Cheryl after a drawn-out battle with cancer, and Paul went suddenly, his heart failing while he slept. Both losses spurred stinging tears and
Read more →In his book Writing for the Soul, Jerry B. Jenkins mentions a category of writers who write because they can’t not write. I’m one of them. If I’m not working on a writing project, my soul begins to fester. Writing is what drives me and helps me
Read more →