The Memories We Give Our Children
I was just 4 years old, a little girl in Amsterdam, when I tried to run over to pick up a doll for a little girl my age who had dropped it on the sidewalk as she and her parents were being dragged out of their apartment by men with guns. My dad pulled me […]
Embracing the Power of Our Stories in the Final Chapters of Life
Who would have thought that at age 80 I would publish my first book––an award-winning memoir, and a second one at age 87? Yet here I am embracing this incredible journey of storytelling and writing, and it has transformed my life in ways I could never have anticipated. I always dreamed of being a creative […]
Father’s Day Reflections by Hendrika de Vries
Walks with my father When the World was engulfed in hatred my father taught me the power of Love and Awe. As I write this, hatred and attacks on anyone deemed “other” are trending again, and I flash back to my first memory of witnessing hatred in action. It was1942. My father enjoyed taking walks […]
Happy to Announce My New Book
Dear friends, This is a huge “thank you” to all of you who read When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew, the memoir in which I told the story of my childhood in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. You urged me to write the sequel about my family’s postwar immigration to Australia. I […]
As 2024 turns into 2025…
“I don’t know how I am going to face this next year,” a friend told me recently. She is not the only one with a heavy heart. For many people I know, this new year comes with a sense of apprehension. In addition to personal crises and natural disasters, the election with its tensions and […]
News Flash
That little toy war dog just keeps winning awards! Dear Friends, I am thrilled to share that my memoir When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew was just recognized a winner in the categories of both Memoir and Young Adult Non-Fiction by the NYC Big Book Award. Many of you […]
Audiobook Now Available
I am thrilled to announce that my memoir, When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew, is now available in audio format. The audiobook is narrated by radio host, Jane Mickelson, a Pacifica Graduate Institute alumna. Available Now!
A New Year’s Eve Miracle
May the New Year bring the “miracle” you wish for. We walked with deliberate steps. Placed our feet with careon the slippery surfaceof the ice-covered sidewalks and bridgesof our Nazi-occupied town.Held on to each other tight, so not to slip and fall into the dark canal, where thin ice would not hold or protect the […]
Easter reflections in the time of COVID-19
I have found one of the lovely surprises about growing old if you are lucky, is that you become part of a web of friends, colleagues and family members who span the planet. Over the years they stretch your mind and enrich your life by their diverse cultural lifestyles, beliefs and rituals, and personal myths. At Easter, […]
A Mother’s New Year’s Wish and Intention
On December 31, 1960, I “missed a great New Year’s Eve party,” so my then-husband told me, because I had just given birth to our second child, my son Grant, in Adelaide, Australia. I assure one and all, that the 9 lb. 10 oz. baby boy was worth missing any New Year’s Eve party. And as I held […]