Last week my maternal grandmother passed away. She was born in 1930 and lived 84 amazing, gritty, loving, open, honest, and creative years. Here she is on her wedding day with her first husband, Eugene H. Klein, in May 1950 in Cook County, Illinois. I am grateful to have known my grandmother for 36 years, […]
Meet my great grandmother Edith, pictured here in San Diego. I think she is pregnant with my grandmother and her twin, and if so, this photo was taken around 1913. Luckily, Edith had an older child from a first marriage and photos of her were passed down to his descendants, which is how I got […]
“I barely remember that girl,” she said. The hands that hold this picture are worn. They are full. They are beautiful. These hands have raised babies, served homemade meals, turned the pages of her favorite books, been held out in prayer, thrown up in surrender and hugged us so tightly, we knew her love was […]
“Only a photograph can show you what your mother looked like when she was 20, when the moonlight fell on her face.” – @maggiesteber In my case, a photograph shows me what my grandmother looked like when she was about 20 – elegant, ethereal, determined. Yesterday I lost her. My family lost a matriarch. The […]
I love my nana and grandad’s wedding portrait. My grandparents, Dave Frank and Florrie Pennock, grew up in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom and met when they were just eight years old. Granddad served in World War II and was named after his uncle, who was killed in World War I. Granddad often said that we could […]
The power of photography to trigger memories and help us heal is truly remarkable. Dad behind the wheel of that cream station wagon he loved so much! Family vacation, circa 1978. Boston to Florida. Dad thought driving on the beach was something we had to do. He said, “Lu, you can’t do this on The […]
“Memory believes before knowing remembers.” William Faulkner On a recent visit back home, I went through a bunch of my Fathers’s old slides. This photo is one of many he took while I was growing up, but haven’t seen the light of day in many years. It has been wonderful to rediscover them. This shot […]
This photo of my mom was taken on her wedding day in 1979, at her sister and husband’s home, on a mountain top. I love so many of my parent’s wedding photos, but my mom’s portraits, particularly this one, really stand out. I love how she is surrounded by nature, I love the elegant way […]
My grandparents in the late 1940s in Michigan, where my grandfather grew up. They had just recently gotten engaged and my grandma was meeting my grandpa’s parents for the first time! She came to New York from Russia; he was a Lieutenant in the US Navy. My grandma was working at Bloomingdales in Manhattan when […]
Here’s to dads. Here’s to the patriarchs who helped us start our stories. Here’s to the father-figures who inspired us to keep writing our life stories, one step at a time. In honor of father-figures everywhere, we’re celebrating dads all week. My remarkable father, who I miss every day, would have turned 100 this summer. […]
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