The Past It’s 1913. The word “teen-ager” was not yet in use. The constitutional amendment granting American women the right to vote had not yet passed. Canned beer, modern supermarkets, and Barbie dolls had not yet been invented. The US did not have an official national anthem. And many practicing doctors in those forty-eight states Continue reading
Author: Iris Ruth Pastor
Replacing Fear With Joy
It’s 11:15am and I’m squirming in my seat. Impatiently scraping my saddle shoes against the metal sidebars of my desk. I glance up at the big wall clock. Fifteen more minutes until lunch break. I can already taste the spicy hamburger loaded with fried onions and the iced cold Coke I will soon be guzzling. Continue reading
Losing My Mother
<iframe style=”border: none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6401556/height/360/width/640/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/” height=”360″ width=”640″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> In my latest podcast I reflect on losing my mother. Click ‘play’ above or find the podcast on iTunes.
Giving Back
How important is it to give back? And how exactly can we? We have the power to brighten someone’s day and to make a difference in the world – in so many very simple ways. We live in the physical world and can see the results of encouragement, kindness and empathy first hand. It’s how Continue reading
Staying Close to Your Family
March 16, 1970 – forty-eight years ago today – was my due date for the birth of my first son, Harry. I would end up delivering him into this world three long weeks later. As I remember, those weeks were filled with anxiety over the mechanics of the actual birthing process and how much it Continue reading
Announcing My New Podcast!
I must admit after sending off last week’s newsletter about my mom, I was seriously considering taking a long break from writing. My husband’s surgery, my mom’s passing away and the frenetic pace of publicizing my book,The Secret Life of a Weight Obsessed Woman, had literally drained me. I was yearning for a quiet mind Continue reading
Maintaining Stable and Loving Family Relationships, with Dr. Ruth Nemzoff
I don’t know anyone with adult kids who doesn’t question their relevancy in their kids lives – and everyone has at least one sticky situation they can’t seem to satisfactorily resolve. That’s why I was so excited to chat with Dr. Ruth Nemzoff – author of Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships Continue reading
I’m Tired, But Also Relieved
It’s two weeks since my mom passed away and I find myself struggling about what to write about her and her death. So many feelings are cascading over me constantly – like a tsunami – washing away what I felt just seconds before and sweeping in new ones. I think my overriding feelings are twofold: Continue reading
A Tribute to My Mother
My mother passed away this week. My time has been spent attending to her funeral, connecting with family, and of course, honoring who she was and all she has given. If it is okay with you, I would like to share her life with you. She was an only child and impressed on her children Continue reading
Energy, Awareness, Focus, and Wonder
Through circumstances not altogether pleasant I found myself in the waiting room of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City on Super Bowl weekend. Trying to distract myself from the myriad of tests my husband was having on his spine, I started reading the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal I had picked up Continue reading