From approximately 1940 to 1970, it is estimated up to 4 million mothers in the United States surrendered infants to adoption. Most of these women relinquished their babies under societal pressure while being told to forget what happened to them.    This shameful period in our history was shrouded in secrecy. With the overturn of […]

A brief encounter with a woman with cancer recently reminded me to slow down and acknowledge what is before us — even if what we see is hard to accept or comprehend. It was Sunday morning and I was walking through the Berkeley Rose Garden with my husband and son. I saw a woman sitting on a […]

Writing requires compassion. Writers not only need to show tenderness for the characters and people they write about but compassion for themselves through the creative process. As the year comes to a close, perhaps you, too, find yourself frustrated by the state of your manuscript or creative project. I want to be ready, but I know […]

Recently a friend asked me, “What is your writing process? How did you decide to leap from one career to another?”  ​ Initially, my writing process required committing to the voice in my head that said, writing a book is something you have to do. It was a must-do calling. Taking a creative leap requires us […]

Three years ago, I left the tech company I was working for to focus on being a mom. I was torn between the career I loved and the young son who I knew wanted me home more. Also wrapped in the middle of this conflict was my dream of writing. It took me two years […]

There is a saying that in order to live a creative life you have to give up certainty. The first few weeks after saying good-bye to my tech career, I found myself uncomfortable. Gone was the frantic schedule that started at 7 a.m. and ended at 7 p.m. No longer was I driven by someone […]

Deciding to opt out of your career can mean more than a few sleepless nights. My decision to step away from my career to spend more time with my son — as well as finish the novel that had occupied the back of my mind for ten years — was a hard decision to make. I was an independent […]

Last week the thing my Father loved the most was towed peacefully from Commencement Bay to a scrap metal yard in Texas. On a gray day when the water was smooth his beloved ship made her final voyage past his home. He stood on his deck, camera in hand and watched as her old metal […]

Celebrating Father’s Day for the first time without you…  Read on March 26, 2016 @ Rich Griffith’s Celebration of Life In the final weeks of my father’s life, we asked him, “How would you like people to celebrate you once you are gone?” “No party,” he grumbled. “No party.” Let me tell you something about […]

It took three years of infertility and two miscarriages to realize I couldn’t have it all. Growing up, I was told that I could do anything I set my mind to. I am from the generation of young girls who were encouraged to do well in school and play sports. One of the few pieces […]