From Detroit to the desert, from Princeton to Toronto, Nancy has gone through many changes in her life. Nancy grew up in Detroit, the child of parents who had modest upbringings. Since both her parents were exposed to “hell fire damnation” churches, they make a deliberate choice to let their children choose their own religions. […]

The child of two generations of farmers, Helen was raised in Bloomington, Illinois. Her grandmother set a precedent for women in the family when she went to college and graduated in 1906. Helen’s mother also went to college, became an accountant, and moved off the family farm to live in town. Helen was named after […]

Instead of being known as Friend Richard, Richard might have been called Father Richard. After growing up in a Catholic family and going to a Catholic school, Richard enrolled in a Catholic seminary to become a priest. Partway through his seminary training, he become disenchanted with the separation between clergy and the laity and withdrew […]

Had it not been for orchids, it is likely that Tom  would not have been a doctor. Tom was born on July 4th. For years, he thought the July 4th celebrations were for him. Because Tom’s father was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tom’s early years were spent in Florida, Haiti and Puerto […]

Lazy summer days floating down a salt water creek – Karen lights up when she remembers the idyllic summers spent at her mother’s family’s home. She grew up on Long Island where her family lived in the winter in Syosset and in the summer in a cottage on Centre Island/Oyster Bay on the north shore […]