This is my resilience pie chart. Each slice of pie shows a plot twist of my life story. The key experiences that made me more bendable and less breakable. You have them, too. It’s your own custom-made curriculum in resilience. My chart doesn’t have happy moments. I’ve had many of those. Earning my doctorate. Starting my first
Your older sister had a meltdown because you never called to thank her for lunch. (But you said thank you when she dropped you off!) Your brother’s aggravated because you bailed on watching Casablanca with him and Dad today. (But your son finally has a day off to help you haul your parents’ old furniture to
I make caramel brownies every Christmas. You start with a cake mix, then add caramel, chocolate, pecans, and butter. LOTS of butter. Mom used to make these for every family gathering. The printed recipe itself is practically a family heirloom. Back in the 1980s, Mom clipped it from a bag of chocolate chips, taped it to an
How do we keep our loved ones close after they’ve passed? End-of-life doula Jim Brulé believes stories are one of the best ways to stay connected to loved ones. Collections of stories can become beloved family legacies passed down through generations. Jim is a spiritual storyteller and teacher, known in the Jewish tradition as a
My husband and I were in the nosebleed section of a beautiful new auditorium. It was intermission, so the house was somewhat empty. In need of a bathroom break, I kicked through empty cups and beer cans scattered around my feet. That’s where my fellow theatregoers discarded their trash. Before they headed to the lobby. Where there
“How long do you cook beans before you freeze them?” My 82-year-old grandmother said as soon as my mother answered her phone call. Grandma had a life to live, so she never wasted time on social niceties like “Hi.” My mother was momentarily confused. She never quite adjusted to her mother-in-law’s bluntness. “Where did you