About Me

I grew up as an only child, in a boarding house in Queens, NY. Shortly after I was born, my father was diagnosed with TB and spent many years in and out of hospitals, unable to earn a living; my mother cleaned houses to support us and became a religious fanatic placing all her hopes in God. When I was 13, my father died, at which point my mother told everyone, “As long as I have Lorraine, I’ll be fine.” I shuddered and closed my ears.

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I graduated from Hunter College with a BA in Education and Communications; taught English at Hunter High School, and then became a fundraiser for Lincoln Center, Fordham University and the American Foundation for the Blind. Now I’m 83 years young, married happily for the second and last time, and live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I have two children and five grandchildren from my first marriage, and a stepson and two step-grandchildren from the second.

Since retiring ten years ago, I’ve become president of my co-op building as well my local Democratic Club. I wrote “Tales from the Boarding House” so my family could read how I grew up. I’ve since written about more recent events in my life, each of which helps to keep me sane when the days look bleak.