Art has a powerful way of permeating our consciousness and impacting our worldview. I’ll always cherish the memory of the first time I stood in front of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. This monumental, granite sculpture of the Civil Rights Movement leader is located in West Potomac Park next to the National Mall … Read more
There’s something so delicious and thrilling about cracking open a brand new book. Who will you encounter? What will you discover that’s unknown to the characters but obvious to you? How will you be transported to different destinations, cultures, and times? One of my favorite activities is to get lost in a great book. Historical … Read more
While lounging on my purple couch on day three of my second run-in with COVID, I got an invitation to attend a live Zoom event with National Book Award author, James McBride. I first fell in love with McBride’s work when I read The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, … Read more
[Image: Jacob Buksbaum’s painting of his mother, Sara, who survived Nazi work camps during the Holocaust.) Today, Holocaust Memorial Day, marks the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp 77 years ago. The following story is about my husband Jacob’s parents, who were forced into work camps during the Holocaust. This close connection serves as a reminder … Read more
Chanukah always falls during the darkest time of the year when the days are shorter. That’s why it’s so inspiring to light ascending candles for eight nights to bring hope and illumination into our homes and into the world. Sometimes a few simple words can create an enormous gateway for healing and transformation. Often, we … Read more
Our life stories are highly individual, magnificent creations made up of millions of shimmering fragments that coalesce into a beautiful portrait of our lives. On my podcast and media tour to promote my debut memoir SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain, I am delighted each day to discover that my family’s poignant, funny, and zany … Read more
Please enjoy this Thanksgiving story from my debut memoir, SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain. An Uber driver took us to Aunt Margie and Uncle Steve’s home in Saddle River, New Jersey, for Thanksgiving dinner. After transferring my dad from car to wheelchair, we made it up the stone steps thanks to the muscles … Read more
Sometimes our scars are invisible as we carry the trauma from childhood bullying throughout our lives. The following story is an excerpt from my debut memoir SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain which shows how my brother’s illness and the subsequent bullying he faced for many years impacted the entire family constellation. Childhood asthma … Read more
Write from the inside out Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel, says that the biggest mistake writers make is that they don’t know what a story is. They have great ideas, beautiful prose, and plenty of plot and action, yet no … Read more