I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. The 1950’s was a wonderful time to be a child. There were no drugs in the schools, no mass murders, no computers or cell phones to distract us. I had a brother who was three years older and a twin sister, so I always had someone to play with. I was an above average student and rarely got into trouble. I had terrific girlfriends and, when I got into high school, was relatively popular with the boys. My mother never went to college, but she was smart, and she was a great parent. With her consistent unconditional love, she gave all three of her children a gift we could take with us for the rest of our lives — a positive self esteem.

I started working when I was sixteen. My first job was at a movie theater. Besides a small salary and all the popcorn I could eat, I was able to see all the new movies for free. Before I graduated from high school, I also worked at a record store after school and a real estate office typing forms for listings and sales. I preferred the record store since I got huge discounts on the newest albums, including Elvis and the Beatles.

When I was twenty-one, I had saved enough money to move to Hollywood. By then, the world was becoming a more difficult place — the war in Viet Nam, the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Drugs were much more prevalent and many of my friends were arrested for marijuana possession. I had many different jobs, including selling purses at Macy’s, reception and secretarial jobs, being a real estate agent, bank teller and financial planner.

When I was twenty-seven, I decided to go to college. I worked part time while getting an undergraduate degree at Cal State University and then went on to get a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Ohio State University. Beside getting my degree, I made some lifelong friends, which became even more valuable to me than the degree! My first job as a social worker was working with foster kids. Then, working with the elderly, with runaway teens, and with severely mentally ill adults in day treatment. I’ve worked in hospitals and Mental Health clinics. I’ve worked with children, individual adults, marital partners and families. And finally I went into private practice until I retired in 2015.

Over the years, I have written several articles and pamphlets on different topics such as anxiety, anger, and depression. The Struggle for Kathy’s Soul is my first novel. I am currently working on my second. I live near Los Angeles with my dog, Sadie.