Love, Laugh, Be:
How I Wound Up With Nine Amazing Kids
When I Only Knew About Three —
And Other Extraordinary True Stories That Matter
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Different Kind
of Memoir
This book emerges from the same sensibility that informs my clinical work — a belief that within even the most difficult experiences, there remains the possibility for meaning, connection, and transformation.
Love, Laugh, Be is a deeply personal account of a life shaped by both rupture and continuity. It moves through experiences of illness, loss, uncertainty, and unexpected expansion — including the unfolding of a large and unconventional blended family.
Rather than offering conclusions or prescriptions, this work reflects on what it means to live through what cannot be predicted or controlled, and to remain engaged with life in the midst of it.
This is not a book of instruction, nor is it a simplified account of overcoming. It is a record of lived experience — of moments that are at once difficult, surprising, and at times, quietly beautiful. Readers often find themselves returning not for answers, but for recognition.
"What we endure does not define us
as much as how we remain in relationship to it."
"There is a way life continues,
even when it takes a form we did not choose."
"Meaning is rarely found in certainty,
but in staying present to what unfolds."
WHAT THIS BOOK EXPLORES
Themes
The emotional landscape of this memoir — drawn from life as it actually unfolds.
Resilience in Adversity
Resilience in the face of illness and adversity —
not as triumph, but as a quiet, sustained presence to what is.
Love as Evolution
Love as something that evolves, rather than resolves —
changing shape without losing its essential quality.
Motherhood & Blended Family
The emotional complexity of motherhood and blended family life — unexpected, expansive, and deeply human.
READER REFLECTIONS
What Readers Say
"Honest, raw, and unexpectedly comforting."
"Deeply human — I felt less alone reading this."
"A reminder that life doesn’t have to be perfect
to be meaningful."
"A story about resilience that never feels forced."
"Love is not something we arrive at.
It is something we remain inside of."
— DR. BRIAR FLICKER-GROSSMAN
For those navigating complexity in their own lives
— whether through parenthood, illness, or unexpected change —
this book offers a companionable presence.
