A Summer to Remember

The last ten weeks have been a whirlwind of personal growth, resilience, and productivity. It's incredible how much life can change in such a short span of time, and I'm living proof of that.

I finished the first draft of The Hat Trick (working title only), the fourth book in the Isaacson family series. The title is in a state of flux as I tweak it to encompass the Catskill Mountains and the craziness happening there during the 1920s. It is where my protagonist, Ella, spends ten weeks of her life and is changed forever. For me, the last ten weeks were also life-changing, although not as dramatically as Ella’s. After all, she dealt with Dutch Schultz and the KKK.

Numerous hours were spent with grandchildren and family at our lake house. For the last 16 years, we’ve had a sanctuary in northern Jersey - a place of healing, entertainment, and family love. Now it’s time to turn the page and begin a new chapter in our lives - in short, simplifying, or as Pop would have said, divesting. I’ve learned through my career that it’s always best to leave on a high note, clean up your office for the next executive without a mess left behind.

So we will come up with fresh ideas for next summer and create new memories with the grandchildren. So much time was spent reading on the deck, gazing at the peaceful water, and supervising children swimming, wearing my trusty whistle around my neck. But it was rarely used as our little flock knew the rules and knew better than to mess with Bubbie when it came to water safety.

The summer bookends came in the form of two wonderful trips with our children’s families - both a magnificent reminder of the beauty in our great country and quite humbly, my own physical limits.

Where once I was trotting down the trails, calling to others to keep up, this year the temperatures and hiking overtook me long before anyone else. This summer marked my seventh month on a new cancer regimen, much tougher than the last. The side effects were knocking my feet out from under me. The daily naps and queasiness were a constant reminder of my humanness and frailty.

Most important, I will hold this summer tightly to my heart, knowing there will never be another one quite like it. As we forge ahead, I look forward to another great year, publishing a fourth book in May 2026, participating in numerous speaking events, and considering my fifth book - perhaps a fictional autobiography of a girl growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. Imagine, that’s now regarded as historical fiction. This will be the year that I slow my pace and remain extra vigilant about my health so I can hang around as long as possible in this fantasy I call, "my life".

I'm deeply grateful for your unwavering support, both in my work and in my health journey. For those who may not know, I’m a 16-year ovarian cancer survivor, and September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Your contributions, no matter how big or small, make a significant difference for those like me. If you'd like to show your support, you can use the link below to make a donation. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To Make a Donation to the Mathilda Fund supporting the OCRA - press here

For those who would like to join a fall event listed below or create a new one for their community, please send me an email, and I will work something out.