After I dropped my daughter off at college in New York last month, I should have come home to California where I belong. But instead I lingered in the city for a week to see some old college friends and have dinner with my daughter again. I flew north to [...]
I walk into my daughter’s room, the day after she leaves for her senior trip to Europe, and my eyes fill with tears. Clothes are strewn everywhere, tags have been cut off last-minute sock purchases, and empty boxes of toothpaste and sunscreen litter the floor. These are the physical remains [...]
Happy New Year! I am reflecting on my writing goals for this year, and I want to share my new resolution with you: exploring different kinds of writing! For this year’s Palos Verdes Library District Anthology 2017, Voices From the Peninsula, I wrote a poem called "Mother Who Are You." [...]
I read several essays about Thanksgiving this year and one really resonated with me. NY Times book critic Parul Sehgal wrote that while she was making her mother-in-law’s stuffing recipe, she had an epiphany. “I’m not enjoying myself until I am, because I suddenly recognize this work – it’s the [...]
My daughter is a senior in high school and her 18th birthday is just around the corner. I want to share with you a letter that I wrote to her. Let me know if you understand how I feel. Dear Claire, Congratulations on your 18th birthday! This moment is a [...]
Last week, my father-in-law, C. (Charles) Cabot Easton passed away at the age of 90. He struggled through a lengthy illness and was cared for in his last few weeks by family and hospice staff near Andover, Massachusetts, where he lived for 50 years. He is survived by his wife [...]
I was recently a guest lecturer in a graduate-level Trauma Theory & Treatment class at Loyola Marymount University. The class is part of the Marital & Family Therapy Program with Specialized Training in Clinical Art Therapy. I spoke about my family’s history and the sociopolitical context that compelled my family [...]
I am excited to share my article which was just published in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News about Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the library. Covering the story, I had a chance to relax with some sumi-e painting myself, and to reflect on the contributions of our local Asian [...]
Spring is in the air, and summer is not too far off. As I think about making summer plans for our family, I remember an experience I had with my son last summer that rocked my world. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and I thought I would share [...]
November is National Adoption Awareness Month. It is also National Novel Writing Month. As I revise my book, I am exploring the role of adoption in my own family. Identity is an important theme in my life and my book. It turns out the search for self has been a [...]