Happy Birthday to my sister, partner in crime and fellow survivor of the Chanel Bonfire!
Note: It was yesterday but things were a little crazy (as you can imagine).
Category Archives: surviving childhood
Second Chance at a Happy Childhood
Readers often ask how it was possible for me to have children to have a happy home life after everything I’d been through as a child, teenager and young adult and having had a role model like Mother. I tell them that having children has been for me a second chance to have a happy childhood by giving my children one. And as for not having a mothering role model, I kind of made one up. When faced with a question or challenge with my kids, I’d often ask myself what Georgann would do and then… do the opposite. It’s worked out quite well. My son Harry graduated from high school this week and my daughter Grace is a delightful middle schooler.
Stories of Child Survivors
I’m always gratified when Chanel Bonfire touches someone and I enjoy hearing their extraordinary stories of childhoods lived in adversity of one kind and another.
At my Glendale Public Library event, I was introduced by this charming man, Leon Mayer, who runs the community outreach committee there. Leon had read my book, and shared his story with me. When he was ten, his dad died, and his mentally ill mom gambled away their savings on the stock market, leaving them destitute. He ended up in a Jewish orphanage – which he loved. There were three meals a day, a bed with clean sheets ,he played sports and went to school. He went on to become a lawyer. It was a pleasure to meet this dapper fellow.