-
Successes (Part 2 of 2)
My life as a young widow has included a lot of failure, especially in (though not limited to!) the first year. There were so many things I did wrong, so many choices I regretted and so many ways in which I made my already difficult circumstances worse. And yet, my years of widowhood have not all been about failure. In fact – even that first year – I’ve had some successes. So, here they are! Ways I’ve succeeded as a widow: Logistics: One of the very first failures I experienced was my broken washing machine, which happened less than a week after Shawn died. It was just the start of…
-
Letter to Myself: 1 Year (Part 3 of 3)
(In this series, I write letters to myself at three different time periods: 1 month after Shawn died, 6 months after Shawn died, and a year after Shawn died. This is what I wish I could have known.) Hi you. How’s it going? You hanging in there? I know. The 1-year marker is terrible. The anticipation may have been worse than the actual day, but the actual day is pretty rough too. I know you’ve spent weeks re-living every moment of the year prior. Did you ease his pain sufficiently? Did you tell him you loved him with enough conviction? Did you make the last days of his life good…
-
Bill Brimley’s Speech at CNAS in Honor of His Son, Shawn
Below is a transcript of the speech Bill Brimley, Shawn’s father, gave to CNAS on October 29, 2018. Thank-you Richard, Michele and Kurt, and thank-you everyone for being here this evening to celebrate and honor the life and accomplishments of our son Shawn. Ever since Shawn passed away in January, many people have asked Shawn’s mother Sheryll and I – how he did it. How did he accomplish so many things – how did he achieve so much success, at such a young age? You all know more about Shawn and his career in Washington than we do. His work in the pentagon, the White House, and here at CNAS.…
There’s No Handbook for How to Do This
