Your father gave me the info for your blog, which I now receive regularly. I appreciate the way that you share both the troubles and the triumphs of parenting. Life, as your blog reflects, is lived in shades of gray – the good, always tinged with challenges, the bad arrives with a silver lining to discover. I hope that your parenting continues to give you more joy and light than angst and obstacles.

I know, as well, from what you have shared publicly, that yours is a constant internal struggle. Having been the primary caretaker of a person who struggled, and continues to fight, clinical depression, I know all too well, the courage, strength and resilience required to face the day, at times, and to ride through the pain. I remember that Lori felt very alone in the pain she experienced:

Of course others suffer from clinical depression, but my struggles are different, deeper and more debilitating.
I must deserve this pain…..

As you must know, a combination of therapy and medication are the most effective treatment. I hope that you are feeling the benefits of your treatment and beginning to see through some, if not most, of the darkness. Lori is also aware of your struggles. From the limited information I/we have gleaned from the letter about depression which you wrote, much of what you are feeling reflects the feelings which Lori articulated when she was feeling depressed. She, I or we are here if you ever want to hear from a different perspective.

I wanted to send to your home a Shabbat dinner later this week, just to let you know that we are thinking of you. Please let me know if that would be okay.

In the meantime, I wish for you continued joy with your family, ongoing strength to confront life’s challenges and abiding hope that, as others have walked this path, you too will find inner peace, joy and satisfaction in the future.

B’Shalom,

NSC