Sande Boritz Berger's Blog
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Apr.06.2013
Shortly before she passes away, my 99-year-old Aunt Irene asks if I would continue the upkeep of her sister’s grave. Something she had done for decades...
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Mar.27.2013
By the time I entered junior high, I had become so nervous a kid that each morning I began dry heaving the instant my feet hit the icy blue linoleum on my bedroom floor. I would purposely set the alarm clock a half hour early to allow me some privacy before my brothers awakened, ready to cause a...
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Mar.14.2013
I am around eight or nine, sitting on the floor of my parents’ pristine bedroom and watching a jungle movie on our first color television, a portable set that was pink. I am alone, completely uncharacteristic of me in this tumultuous home, and I can only guess that this had something to do...
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Mar.14.2013
I am around eight or nine, sitting on the floor of my parents’ pristine bedroom and watching a jungle movie on our first color television, a portable set that was pink. I am alone, completely uncharacteristic of me in this tumultuous home, and I can only guess that this had something to do...
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Dec.17.2012
He asks if I’ve heard about the tragedy, though, at 10, he slightly mispronounces the word. I don’t correct him, already chilled by the fact he has been told too much any child his age should ever have to know, or try to comprehend.
I nod my head knowing that his parents (I’m the...
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Nov.15.2012
Written by Mattius Thuresson and directed by Barry Levinson, the film Avalon is, by far, my favorite intergenerational story. With its realistic mix of warm humor, sudden tragedy and triumph, the tender and beautiful film is reminiscent of...
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Jul.08.2012
Shortly before she passed away, my 99-year-old Aunt Irene asked if I would continue the upkeep of her sister’s grave. Something she had done for decades− since the bleak November morning, when Jean, her name was Jean, fastened her chestnut hair into plastic rollers, then hanged herself with the...
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Jun.19.2012
Even now, an entire lifetime later, it is hard to admit that I was bullied. I said nothing. I told no one. Bullying was usually accompanied by severe warnings: tell and you will be sorry!
But I was already sorry, just for being me, the youngest girl in the seventh grade, the skinniest...
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Apr.16.2012
We all know writing is that very lonely planet, and why some of us desperately seek other signs of life to nurture us and provide the needed inspiration to keep writing. For those very reasons, I began attending writing conferences in the 1980's, at first...
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Mar.19.2012
When I was barely a teen, I’d discovered my father’s hiding place for what we then called: dirty books. Shoved way in the back of his night stand, I found a rather worn paperback of “Peyton Place,” by Grace Metalious, the book that everyone loved to hate, and no one ever admitted to...
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Dec.29.2011
The Savor Factor
I met a wise woman once who gave me a terrific bit of advice that I’ve never forgotten. As a matter of fact, I decided to incorporate her very astute suggestion into my yearly New Year’s resolution list─ probably the only one that, after almost twenty years, I still follow....
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Oct.29.2011
The last time I had marched for, or against, something was in ’61, when my high school administration adamantly banned the wearing of boat-neck style shirts from classroom attire. Wear one and you simply would not graduate. Can you imagine? This was a public HS school on Long Island, not a...
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Jun.17.2011
My Father: Lost, then Found
The e-mail from Miami reported: Dad has been missing for hours.
Instantly, there flashed a most terrifying image− my father’s 82 year-old sun-spotted face boldly imprinted on a
quart of skim. When I called for details, my brother attempted to pacify me...
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Jun.09.2011
I was slumped on a bed in a hotel room in Florida, sad that my college reunion had ended, when I noticed a text message from my brother: Mom is in the hospital. The end is near.
I've learned that in all matters concerning our mother, I must pay careful attention to my heart rhythm to know how I...
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About Sande
After nearly two decades as a scriptwriter and video/film producer for Fortune 500 companies, Sande Boritz Berger returned to her first passion writing both fiction and non-fiction full time. Her short stories and essays have been published in Every Women...
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Sande’s Favorite Books
The Great Gatsby, Gone With The Wind, The Joy Luck Club, Angela's Ashes, The Help
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