Born in Milwaukee, I’m one of seven children, the oldest girl. My father was the oldest of five, and my mother was the youngest of 12. My siblings and I thrived on our relationships with grandparents, dozens of uncles and aunts, and umpteen cousins. Indeed, it was that rich and vital connection that planted the seed of my interest in family dynamics.
In the early 1960s, I attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison as an English and Psychology major. By 1964, I was married, expecting my first child and heading for Washington DC, where I wrote brochures for the American Association of Children in Hospitals. In 1974, when I was the mother of five under the age of 12, my feature-writing career began as much out of the need to express myself as it did to keep my sanity.
In time, my subject matter spread to include everything from international adoption to aging. My award-winning articles regularly appeared in the Washington Post, L.A. Times Syndicate, Journal Newspapers, US News & World Report, Family Therapy Networker, Washington Dossier, Single Parent Magazine, Modern Maturity Magazine (AARP).
In 1991 I wrote Between Sisters: Secret Rivals, Intimate Friends (Delacorte, 1991). In 1996, I co-authored 40 Ways to Raise a Nonracist Child (HarperCollins Publishers) with Mary Ann French, a colleague at the Washington Post.
I have discussed my work on national and public radio and television, including The Diane Rehm Show, The Today Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
After teaching memoir and creative writing workshops, I was newly inspired to write Curtain Calls: A Collection of Short Stories (2013) on love, loss, and discovery.
My latest work, Ocean Breathing: A Novel (2020), is about a woman who faces up to her long-time hidden anxiety disorder – from panic attacks to agoraphobia. A story of promise and strength.
I enjoy speaking to book clubs, women’s groups and senior communities, not only about my books, but about the craft of writing short stories and memoirs.
