GENERATIONS
Excerpt from Letters to Sam: A Grandfather's Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life: ”The Journey Inside”
In 2006, Dr. Daniel Gottlieb, Philadelphia psychotherapist, columnist, radio personality, and author, published Letters to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lessons of Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life. In the chapter “The Journey Inside,” Dr. Dan shares how “going forth” as a young adult can sometimes only be successful by “going within.” The truth of one’s parents is not necessarily one’s own truth, and young people begin their journey when they leave the nest. It is then they learn to rely on themselves and build the strength they need to face whatever life dishes out to them. Gottlieb (a quadriplegic due to a freak accident years ago) wrote the book for his autistic grandson—thus passing wisdom from one generation to the next—but the lessons he imparts can benefit readers of all ages . . .

HEALTH
Personal Safety for the Newly Independent
Paranoia—or Common Sense? I check both locks on my front door twice before I settle into my home for the night. And the door doesn’t even lead into my apartment; it opens onto my porch. Add to that the fact that most passersby on my street would probably have no clue how to get into my home, and you may call me paranoid. But little habitual actions one would regard as an overdose of common sense cut down, by leaps and bounds, the chances of being a victim of crime . . .

FAMILY
Who Says Grown Kids Don’t Keep in Touch? A Month of Mother-Daughter Texts
Believe it or not, my daughter Sarah and I both lead very separate, very busy lives, a couple of hours apart from one another. But, we still keep in touch the way most people do these days—via phone, email, and texts. Our lives intersect more during some months than others, and, granted, July was a particularly busy one for us, but that made our texting all the more rich. So, here’s a month’s worth of texts to prove that this mother and daughter really do keep in touch. Seriously. We couldn’t make this stuff up . . .

MIND
When Is a Job Too Much of a Job?
Last night, about 5:30, after about 10 hours at my desk, my head began to throb. Gary and I had planned to take Oliver, our 16-year-old kitty, to the vet for his annual checkup—at least that’s what we had said that morning. By 4:00 p.m., though, my thoughts traveled more along the lines of, “I’ve got to get to the gym, or I’m going to kill myself or someone else.” So, going to the vet with Gary had warped into Gary’s dropping me off at Genesis Fitness on his way to the vet and picking me up afterward. However, by 5:30, my thinking had changed once again: “What if I exercise with a throbbing headache? Can I, like, burst something (like an artery)? . . .

Features . . .