family Archives - Karen DeBonis

Vulnerability, and why I'm thankful for it.

By Karen DeBonis | November 27, 2019 |

Elderly man and blonde woman shoot pool.

I’m trying to pinpoint when this new relationship with my dad started, but it was less a point and more an evolution.

Talking with my adult children.

By Karen DeBonis | April 5, 2018 |

Now that my memoir is becoming more of a reality, with sections of my manuscript getting closer and closer to completion, it’s provided opportunities for our family to talk about what happened two decades ago in ways that we couldn’t back then when we were stumbling through it. Matt was eleven when he was diagnosed…

Breathtaking lessons from a family vacation.

By Karen DeBonis | January 6, 2017 |

I had planned a relaxing family Christmas vacation visiting my parents on the west coast. Since my Mom and Dad moved out there several years ago, my east coast clan of four have had precious little time with them, and this was our chance to catch up. All three of my guys – my husband and two sons – were able to take time off from work. My parents, in their eighties, are in relatively good health, but who knows how long that will continue?

I was looking forward to a great trip, maybe the last that the six of us would havetogether.

Then I found out that my sister from Chicago would be visiting as well. And my brother from Pittsburgh. And another brother and his family from Charlotte.