“Growing up, she devoured books. Pedaling her bike to meet the bookmobile on Saturday mornings was an elixir that helped her escape from uncertainty, fear, and boredom. Her library card was a gateway to an unknown world where she could escape and imagine possibilities far beyond her home, her street, and her neighborhood.”
Born in Chicago, Lori was influenced by the cultural shifts of the 1960s and the feminism roar of the 1970s. Raised in a monochromatic white suburb where the standard path was marriage and children, she chose a different journey. With minimal savings, she followed a college roommate to San Francisco. After six years, Lori moved to New Orleans, completed graduate school, and launched her social work and teaching career. About eight years later, she headed up the East Coast to New Haven, CT, for a position connected to Yale. When her engagement ended in 2004, and another winter storm reminded her how grumpy she was in cold weather, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of living in a place where she’d wake up to palm trees and ocean breezes.
Lori met her husband in South Florida, and they share their lives with a rescue beagle, Bixby.
She is inspired, curious, and invigorated when outdoors in nature or traveling. Her favorite hike is traversing Walters Wiggles up to the top of Angels Landing in Zion National Park. Driving off road in Moab when her 4 x 4 crests a ledge and she can see the sky but not the rock below her is challenging and exhilarating. Lori seeks out adventures but tries to avoid high risks. Tracking a black rhino in Namibia was borderline risky, but she had some enormous poisonous bushes to hide behind and a story that never gets old.
Growing up, Lori devoured books. Pedaling her bike to meet the bookmobile on Saturday mornings was an elixir that helped her escape from uncertainty, fear, and boredom. Her library card was a gateway to an undiscovered world where she could escape and imagine possibilities far beyond her home, her street, and her neighborhood.
Writing stories came much later in life as an avenue to piece together memories for relatives’ eulogies and recall raw childhood experiences while shaping them into meaning. Over the past five years, she’s enjoyed numerous classes focusing on the craft of writing. Lori is captivated when someone shares their story and invites her to explore the shadows of their experiences, something she cherished throughout her career as a social worker.
In January 2022, Lori retired from her career, choosing to focus her energy on writing, traveling, and being delighted by the mystery of life.