setbacks

setbacks

December 16, 2022

It’s Better to Give…and Receive

Like many of us, Lisa Dunlap had always heard the adage that it's better to give than to receive. But having been on the receiving end of many acts of kindness, Ms. Dunlap has come to believe that while it is indeed good to give, it's also good to receive.
April 6, 2020

The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do

As a hospice volunteer, Mary Cook shares in the grief of others. But it was her own loss that taught her how to heal. She believes that recovering from grief requires not a battle, but surrender.
December 24, 2019

A Powerful Act of Love

Susan Hall has a hectic life filled with a full-time job, household chores, and raising a developmentally challenged child. But when her son got her to stop and enjoy some music with him, Hall learned how loving it is to sit with someone and simply listen.
January 14, 2019

My Father Told Me I Was Fat

When Cherie Burbach was a young girl, she believed her father's cruel words defined her, and her only escape from his verbal assaults was to write about her emotions. Now, as an adult, she values her words over her father's, and she continues to write to express who she is.
January 7, 2019

In Giving I Connect With Others

In grieving the death of her daughter, novelist Isabel Allende finds inspiration in the life of service her daughter led, and comfort in the love Allende was able to give her in death.
September 10, 2018

My Grandmother’s Dicho

Winter Prosapio and her family endured a series of medical and financial troubles that left them feeling broken and bruised. Ms. Prosapio called on an old family saying that gave her the strength to get through hard times.
July 8, 2017

Made by Hand

When Chicago journalist Mary Mrugalski was unmarried and pregnant, she baked bread. When her daughter fought a long illness, they worked the dough together. Mrugalski believes in the comfort and peace she gets from making bread with those she loves.
March 31, 2017

The Power And Mystery Of Naming Things

The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler believes in speaking up. She says when we name the things that make us uncomfortable or afraid, then demons are faced, silences are broken, and freedom is won.
January 12, 2017

The Tense Middle

Nobel Prize–winning chemist Roald Hoffmann believes the middle is a good place to be. It reminds the Cornell professor of the choices we can make in life and helps him see the possibility for change.