Connections
A Family Chain that Keeps on Giving
I first met Jeremiah Bartel through the National Kidney Foundation. After writing about him for an NKF Newsletter, my fondness for his entire family continued. So I pitched their remarkable solidarity to Gail Rosenblum at the Star Tribune. Well, she loves their story too (no surprise) and hired me to write it up for the…
Read MoreProgress Starts with a Story
In the next twelve months, I’ll be tackling publisher-assigned tasks for my forthcoming memoir. Still a long way off, but each step adds another tiny drop into a big bucket. My advocacy work requires a different type of patience—you put in lots of effort without ever holding pages in your hand. Here’s a confession; with…
Read MoreWhere there are Helpers, There is Hope
How lucky is this? The National Kidney Foundation MN Blog has asked me to interview amazing people and write their stories. And this story? It’s incredibly heart warming. Especially now, when we are all ready to chuck 2020—the connection between Taylor Pikkarainen and sweet Bodie Hall is an uplifting reminder that good things happen in…
Read MoreI Miss You, Cashier Lady
Here’s an essay of mine published by the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in July. It never made it to my blog due to technical difficulties. Don’t get me started on technical difficulties, they are the bane of my existence. But now it’s October and there is a happy ending. My blog is no longer rejecting…
Read MoreCircling Back to the Bright Side
Last month, as the COVID crisis separated us from our people and places, I wrote to find the bright side. But now, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death, a heavy haze of pain and sadness circulates through the air. Writing to find the bright side? My words ran dry. Then I consulted my daughter, Liza,…
Read MoreThe List that Changed My Life
I recently heard Cheryl Strayed, an author I admire (best known for her memoir Wild) tell this story, and it stuck with me. She was riding in the car with her ex-husband years ago. On an icy patch of a Wisconsin highway, the car started to slip and slide. As he tightly gripped the wheel,…
Read MoreConnections during Coronavirus
As I’m home dodging COVID-19, I’m lucky that I like to write—keyboard tapping definitely fills time. And I’m delighted that the Founder of ModernWell, Julie Burton, published this story about my grateful-to-give-back Live Happy, Dammit! t-shirts on the ModernWell blog. Check it out, stay home, stay healthy, and stay happy!
Read More