Author Archives: Risa Denenberg

>On my reading list

Posted on December 30, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> I’ve been reading The Magic Mountain, written in 1924 by Thomas Mann. In brief, it is the story of a privileged young man who goes to a tuberculosis sanitarium to visit his stricken cousin, and ends up spending years … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

>Still Life and Non-Sense

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> It’s snowing in Seattle and after risking frostbite, waiting for the never-appearing bus, listening to the traffic report, or falling on icy asphalt, everyone is now sitting at home watching the snow. Seattle closes down when it snows. Schools … Continue reading →

Posted in palliative care, Seattle | 1 Comment

>Susan Sontag and my grandsons

Posted on December 10, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> You know, when I wrote my last blog about wanting to be a BON girl (thanks for the concept, Bob, a girl can hope, right?) I was being lazy. I wanted/needed to blog, but I just couldn’t get to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

>Blogs of Note

Posted on December 7, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> I’m looking through Blogger and noticing the ‘blogs of note’. Interesting blogs, certainly eye-catching, some profound. But I can’t help wondering, why isn’t my blog a “blog of note”? Like everyone else who writes a blog, I want everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

>When she tells you she is tired, listen.

Posted on November 25, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> Every time I wash my hair, I think about my mother. Again and again, as I squeeze a dollop of shampoo into my hands and begin to rub lather into my scalp, I remember. In her last months she … Continue reading →

Posted in fatigue | 1 Comment

>Occasional Notes from Seattle

Posted on November 20, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> For the past two months, I have been sending occasional notes to my “palliative pals” at the Lehigh Valley Health Network where I worked with the palliative care team for 2 years, before moving to Seattle to join the … Continue reading →

Posted in palliative care | 2 Comments

>A most difficult conversation

Posted on October 4, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> How can I tell what he is thinking? His front teeth missing, his voice so weak. I struggle to hear, to make words of his soft garble. I say lightly,‘You’re making this hard for us, you know.‘ He smiles, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

>Random thoughts: first week in Seattle

Posted on September 6, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> 9/01/08My first day in Seattle: The house is so small, the outside so big. There are 3 coffee shops within walking distance. 9/02/08This is life on a whole different scale than I have known. 9/03/08Unfamiliar foliage. I want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

>Seasons of Corn

Posted on July 27, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> People do change, although we don’t change because others want us to, and we can’t force others to change even when we think it would be good for them or because we wish they would. Even I can change. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

>my new-news

Posted on July 4, 2008 by Risa Denenberg

> Wondering why I have been so unsatisfied with my “good life” became a daily activity for the past many months. Something about the constraints of my job (love the work, hate the job) but even more, the limits of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment