Marcia Byalick

Care taker, Concerned citizen, Connector, Educator/Teacher, Life mentor, Parent, Writer/Editor

I’ve spent most of my adult years chronicling my life in various guises…as an essayist, reporter, author, memoir teacher. What I learned and shared has been disseminated in newspapers and magazines, three self-help books and three young adult novels. Because I was fortunate enough to have a monthly column that anchored a Long Island publication for over twenty years…and for most of that time, also nurtured those committed to getting the stories of their lives down before they evaporate, I’ve had the distinct and lovely opportunity to review not only my own history, but that of hundreds of my students. Writing how we feel about what happens to us along the way is a sort of preemptive strike, controlling how we’ll be remembered by future generations. What a gift to hand down the story of how you met the love of your life, how one book changed the trajectory of your career, what you ate on Tuesday nights in elementary school. How generous to describe your mother’s hands…to remember the contents of your father’s pockets… to share your favorite piece of music. What great lessons our lives have to teach about handling tough times, overcoming obstacles and surviving mistakes. About the indescribable rewards of appreciating, loving and forgiveness. The truth trumps the facts any day. What happened on a certain day has little to do with what actually went on and everything to do with how we felt about what went on. Who cares if the person sitting next to us that day decades ago disagrees about who started that fight. Our memory is our truth. If you stop to think about it… and that’s all that writers do… you would be rightfully amazed at how well you’ve handled what life has thrown at you. You might not see yourself as extraordinary... but you are.ll

My family. My friendships. Honesty. Humor. Dark chocolate. Stephen Colbert. Maureen Dowd. Vanity Fair. Spinning. Barbra Streisand. Anna Quindlen.

It's never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot

I am blessed with a daughter who invited her mom to accompany her...and in so doing, fulfilled one of her life's dreams.