Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends

I've been a writer most of my life, but didn't admit it until 2009. After earning a master's degree in Speech and Dramatic Art from the University of Iowa, I moved to Chicago, where I worked professionally as a stage manager, director and administrator in addition to being a founding board member of the League of Chicago Theatres. I discovered I was good at fundraising, and ventured out on my own, raising millions for arts, educational and AIDS service organizations, and later became an award-winning sales consultant of children's books. But when a concussion ended my sales career, I decided to finally keep a promise to a dying friend to write a book. That book became a series of six small books: the Friend Grief series. I'm currently working on a more challenging book: Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community, coming in 2017. It's a labor of love for me to recognize the contributions of amazing women from around the world who stepped up to the challenge of fighting this devastating virus. The Friend Grief books are included in the Illinois and first national curated collections from Library Journal's SELF-e Program and I've been honored to be named their first Ambassador. In addition, my essay, Long-Term Survivors was recognized with the 2015 Christopher Hewitt Award for Nonfiction. My articles have appeared on a variety of grief and writing blogs as well as Windy City Times, Chicago Tribune and Huffington Post. In my copious spare time, I feed my reading habit by reviewing a wide variety of books on BroadwayWorld.com. A native St. Louisan, I'm a lifelong Cardinals fan and will gladly take on any comers in musical theatre trivia. My blog, FriendGrief, was named one of the top ten grief support websites in 2012. I'm a card-carrying member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Chicago Writers Association and ACT UP/NY (just kidding - we don't have membership cards in ACT UP/NY).