sent to us by Ruby on September 2, 2005...

My mother, Janet Ferrare, has been assisting in the home birth and home dying movements for over 30 years. She has caught the tiny heads of untold babies, and sat reverently beside the beds of many who were experienceing their final hours of this lifetime. Her ways are those of compassion and courage; love and committment to individual sovereignty; the caring for and healing of hearts and spirits. She is an exceptional caregiver for her parents as well, her mother Bernice is living with Alzheimer's in a nursing home, and her father Sam is living alone for the first time in 60 years. Yet, always my mom Janet is there to give her love and attention to them, even though she has her own family here to care for, as well as her clients. I just think she is amazing, and wanted to share her with you a little bit.

    

    

sent to us by Melanie on June 23, 2003...

I write to honor my sister and to my father who is in late stage Alzheimer's.

Our Journey is similar to others I have encountered—the fear, the heartwrenching decisions, the family feuds about the choices we face.

What makes my sister so special is she chronicled one year in which she was caring for my father and her one year old daughter. The book is called The House on Beartown Road, A Memoir of Learning and Forgetting by Elizabeth Cohen. I am very proud of my sister for having the courage to journal her story.

When I sent her my father from NM as I could no longer care for both my mother with COPD and my two little kids and my father's failing mind, she had just moved to upstate NY in the country with her husband and New Baby. Well, her husband leaves immediately and so her memorable winter story begins. The parallels she draws as her daughter learns and my father forgets are intriguing. She extrapolates humor at every corner and as the NY Times review and others say what could have been a scathing self pity party is actually a lovely story of courage, memories and hope. My father had a Ph.D. in Economics and is a Professor Emeritus from NM, Dr. Sanford Cohen. This message is honor of him.

Thanks for letting me share.

Melanie Thomas

    

    

This comes to us from Marie Jones in February 1999...

I celebrate my sister, Angella, for having the courage to finally begin to seek help for herself and her children after living with an alcoholic husband for over 15 years. She is finally at that point where she has the courage and the love for herself to take action and take charge of her OWN life and get help she needs for herself and her children, even though her husband is still completely in denial about his disease. Angella has forever been, and continues to be, the caregiver in her family but now she is finally learning to give care to herself, first! She is setting a wonderful role model for her kids, too, by letting them know you must take care of your own needs in order to be truly happy and healthy in life!

    

    

sent to us by Kay Vickery in October, 1998

John is head of the chaplain's service at Wernersville State Hospital and is sick with some odd brain disease and also has amaloid protein disease in which his bone marrow makes a strange protein that collects in every organ of his body which will eventually kill him. It kills the kidneys, brain, heart, spleen, etc. one by one. He is fighting back and is hoping to be able to take a new medication for the amalyoid disease that was just approved by the FDA but has to wait on a list to get the medication.

and this, from Kay's follow-up letter to maggie:

". . . He keeps the book you sent with him all the time, at times has it on his desk, and I think this is a talisman for him to remember that we are all together in God's love, all connected to the source of all things, and not ever alone. Thanks for having Heartsongbooks.com for us.

Kay, aka TraderVick@aol.com"

    

    

sent to us by Bridget Nelson of Lancaster, Ohio, May 26th, 1997

Karolyn Blankenship

just because she is there and she is doing it and she always smiles.

    

sent to us by David R. Davis of Clinton, Mississippi on May 8th, 1997

Read this unusual tribute from an artist grandson to his beloved grandfather, Raymond Lacy (1905-1997). Visit here to see his life told in comic art form.

    

    

sent to us by Dayna of Dallas, Texas, March 13th, 1997

Abrielle Hughes, of Mesquite, Texas

I would like to celebrate in her honor because she consistantly cares for, loves and hugs her brothers who are both handicapped. She is the best, most helpful, eight-year-old sister a brother could have.

    

sent to us by Linda Wilk of Orfordville, Wisconsin, January 20th, 1997

Dorrie is a one-of-a-kind helper — it would take a book to name all the people she has helped, resources she has offered . . . from day-to-day operations in her church, to the flowers at the Rotary Garden, to breakfasts for the not so fortunate, to her friendships with folks like me!

Dorrie visited my mom in person or by phone from the first week she moved here. She introduced her pastor to my mom, enabling my mom's support of her spiritual life. Most of all, she has always found time in her amazing schedule to listen to me and offer timely advice. All this in a quiet, humble sort of way. The world needs to acknowledge all the Dorrie's — they keep the rest of us strong!