I was going through some personal files the other day and came across some notes from my own doctor visits during Joe’s decline and soon...

Get OUT! Get away from me! You’re all FIRED! Get the #&%@ OUT! Joe’s hospital roommate—we’ll call him Fred—raged unceasingly at the...

When I was a brand new mother (oh, those were thrilling, exhausting days!), I wanted so badly to do everything “right”. I read books...

Six years ago today, I received a phone call from a doctor who told me my son had an aggressive, inoperable brain tumor. These...

I belong to an online group for people who have lost family members to glioblastoma. As I read about the distress these dear people...

Over the course of Joe’s three-year cancer journey, he was forced to give up many things: driving, marital arts, long hikes, leading...

Here’s another gem I came across the other day. I believe Joe wrote this in early 2014 (just before his diagnosis): My Family by Joe...

They said I was strong But I didn’t feel strong I felt weak and tired and confused They said I was brave But I didn’t feel brave I felt...

I often hear the Rodgers and Hammerstein song My Favorite Things around this time of year. Not sure why it’s included with Christmas...

Today I am remembering the final days of Joe’s life. We brought him home from the hospital for the last time in mid-November of 2017....

I’m sorry now that I don’t remember your name. You were on shift that day in late October when my dad, my sister, and I joined my mom...

Joe had a fun creative streak and often recorded unusual sounds to use in his music (he called it sampling). I remember one afternoon I...

August 28. Another birthday… I’m sure these special days will get easier with time, but for now they still bring a tinge of sadness, and...

For several years I came close to allowing myself the identity of “the mom whose son has brain cancer”. Then it was “the mom whose son...

The first day Joe was at UCI (the large university hospital we transferred to after a week at our small community hospital), our good...

The longer we live the more likely it is we will have a friend or family member who is grieving a great loss. What can you do to comfort...

I’ve been thinking about the second year. I’ve heard from many who have walked before me on this grief road that the second year is often...

A joyful heart is good medicine… (Proverbs 17:22) When Joe was first in the hospital in late June of 2014, even before he was diagnosed...

On November 23, 2017, Joe’s sisters lost a wonderful and faithful friend. Joe filled the gap in the seven-year age difference between...