Where I'm published
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Social Skills 101
“Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.” ~Dale Carnegie Years before Oprah made “life coach” a household term, my father followed the work of Dale Carnegie, one of America’s most prolific authors of self-improvement guides. Dad kept a well-thumbed copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People next to the wingback chair where he read nightly. Whenever I misbehaved, he’d wave his copy of the book under my nose and urge me to read it …. To read the rest of this column in The Oakland Press, please click here. Photo by Cindy La Ferle for MediaNews Group
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Zen and the art of gardening
—Titled “The Art of Midlife Gardening,” this essay was originally published in Victoria magazine. Last spring, members of our local Master Gardener Society invited me to speak at one of their meetings. I was honored, at first, but as soon as the date of the talk rolled around, I started getting nervous. And with good reason. Master Gardeners aren’t just fooling around with bulbs and blossoms. These folks earn a minimum of 40 hours of instruction in horticulture science. Meeting for at least 11 weeks, they take classes in caring for indoor and outdoor plants, establishing lawns, growing vegetables and fruit trees, designing gardens, and more. I bow to their…
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- Oakland Press columns, The Oakland Press, Tips for caregivers of parents with dementia, Where I'm published
NEW article: “Ten tips for caregivers”
“Caregiving is a marathon and not a sprint. Equipping yourself for the long haul is essential. You shouldn’t walk the caregiving journey alone.” ~ Lisa Mayfield Doug and I could share dozens of sad stories about losing a parent to a progressive memory loss disease. While his father and my mother each struggled with a different type of dementia, we know how painful it can be to face changes in your relationship with a beloved elderly parent — and to make difficult lifestyle decisions on their behalf. Ever since my mom died, it’s been one of my missions to share my caregiving experiences — things I learned the hard way…
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Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: “Uncovering Serenity”
My love affair with Japanese gardens began many years ago when I was a student at Cranbrook Summer Theater School in Bloomfield Hills. Later, when I had a home of my own, I created a small Japanese garden in a corner of our back yard. When the editor of Michigan Blue asked me to write a feature story about the newly installed Japanese Garden at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I jumped at the chance. This magnificent eight-acre landscape is a work of art — and well worth a visit. You can read my feature here, in the “Travel & Adventure” issue of Michigan…
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Memoir Writing for Mental Health
“Each of us is a book waiting to be written, and that book, if written, results in a person explained.” ~Thomas M. Cirignano If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of writing a memoir, now is the ideal time to gather your journals, photos, and memories — and get started. Did you know that writing about your experiences can boost your mental health? I’ve always believed in the healing power of writing about our lives — and one of my missions is to encourage others to write their stories. To learn more, please look for my new feature story in the “Things to Do” section of today’s Oakland Press. To…
