Magical Memoir Moments
Odyssey: Two New Stages of Life
The columnist David Broder gobsmacked me this week with these words: There used to be four common life phases: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Now, there are at least six: childhood, adolescence, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement and old age. Of the new ones, the least understood is odyssey, the decade of wandering that frequently…
Paying Life Forward: Memoir and Mentorship
When I was twelve years old, my family moved from a farm we rented in Manheim, Penna., to the “home place,” the farm my parents bought from my grandparents. That move, I now recognize, changed my life. I went from being a moderately engaged student trying to fit in with a social crowd to being…
Max DePree, Leader, Mentor, Memoirist
A few weeks ago, my husband Stuart and I traveled to the “west coast” of Michigan, first to Saugatuck, where we had a lovely visit on a rainy day to the Wickwood Inn, and then to Holland, where Stuart explored the downtown and I visited Max DePree, the man who has been my mentor for…