Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way

Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way

Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way

Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way

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Overview

“A wondrous, hopeful, heart-breaking witness to one of the darkest journeys imaginable… This will be one of those rare books that people re-read, think about, and encourage others to read.” —Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D, author, with Oprah Winfrey, of What Happened to You

“I love this book. I absolutely could not put it down. It is beautifully written and cuts to the very heart of life and love: The story of Havi’s short, beautiful life and early death from Tay-Sachs is harrowing, heartbreaking, uplifting, profound and sometimes funny. Havi will charm the socks off you.”—Anne Lamott

Life is unfolding as planned for Myra Sack and her husband Matt until their beautiful year-old daughter Havi is diagnosed with Tay-Sachs, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, and given only a year to live. Myra and Matt decide to celebrate Havi’s short life and vow to show her as much of the world as they can, surrounded by friends and family who relocate to be in Havi’s orbit. Tapping their Judaism, they transform Friday night Shabbats into birthday parties—“Shabbirthdays”—to replace the birthdays Havi will never have.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781958972250
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing Company
Publication date: 04/02/2024
Pages: 266
Sales rank: 95,930
Product dimensions: 9.00(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Myra Sack graduated with a B.A in government and All-American Honors in 2010 from Dartmouth College, where she captained the women’s varsity soccer team. She earned a post-graduate Lombard Fellowship in Granada, Nicaragua with Soccer Without Borders. Following her lifelong passion for sports and social justice, Myra joined SquashBusters, Inc., in Boston in 2013, serving as their Chief Program and Strategy Officer. Myra has an MBA in Social Impact from Boston Universityand is trained as a Certified Compassionate Bereavement Care provider by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore. She serves on the Board of the Courageous Parents Network and is the Founder of E-Motion, Inc., a non-profit organization with a mission to ensure community is a right for all grieving people. A writer, coach, and activist, Myra and her husband Matt, live in Jamaica Plain, MA with their second daughter, Kaia, and son Ezra. Myra’s oldest daughter, Havi, passed away on January 20, 2021 of Tay-Sachs disease.

Read an Excerpt

Three days after learning that Havi has only a year or so to live, we celebrate her first Shabbirthday. A dozen of her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and close friends descend on our home. No one pretends the heartache isn’t there. Havi is showered with gifts: a onesie; cake and balloons; a plush toy avocado, a warm challah; an elegant gray dress with white leggings—her first Shabbirthday outfit. Havi eats two helpings of sweet potatoes and giggles her way through the extra frosting that Matt feeds her with his finger. Her body vibrates in her seat; she kicks her legs with excitement.

Our home feels full and warm. Everyone here is full and warm, nestling together in the flickering light of the Shabbat candles, and the reality of Havi’s terminal illness. None of us pretend our pain away with fake smiles. None of us hide from the joy and laughter that bubble up from our deepest, most painful inner selves. Havi spends every moment in the arms or the lap of someone who loves her.

Since that first Shabbirthday, we’ve celebrated Havi that way every single Friday night, no matter what we’re doing or where we are; no matter what’s happening in the world or in or lives. Each week we invite friends and family for good food, wine, and of course, ice cream for dessert. We listen to music, dance, read poetry. When everyone goes home, Matt and I write a letter to Havi describing the evening we just shared. Every Saturday morning, we post that letter on CaringBridge, sharing news of Havi and the transformative and painful life lessons we’re learning as we accompany her through her life.

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