“Stories for Jane,” a new project

I have a new project that I will start to roll out on this blog. “Stories for Jane” will be a series dedicated to my late sister (the eldest girl in my family) who passed in 2004. Jane had paranoid schizophrenia and for the last 20 years of her life she was separated from her family. She was institutionalized and I never saw her during those years. I did not know where she was exactly, I had no address, I could not write any letters or send any packages.

A few months ago, my older sister passed. We had come together during the last 24 months of her life as she battled cancer. We met regularly, after decades of being estranged, and we exchanged gifts. The greatest gift was being in touch again, this time on an amicable basis.

Now, as the only female left in my family, I sense an urgency to enjoy every day that I am still here. L’Chaim is a paramount value in my chosen religion. I am rededicating my life now, I am starting again, I am living for teshuvah–a daily renewal.

Part of my teshuvah process is to examine Jane’s life and the role she played in my own life.