The Living Memories Project: Legacies That Last

The Living Memories Project: Legacies That Last is an inspirational and uplifting book that shows readers how others have developed meaningful ways to keep alive the memories of those no longer here.
It is a unique collection of inspiring stories that celebrates the lives and legacies of loved ones. It details, through interviews, anecdotes, essays, poems, and photographs the many ways that both celebrities and others have transcended grief to incorporate the presence of their loved ones into their lives. It provides numerous proactive, creative, comforting, and concrete ways to restore focus on how loved ones lived, rather than how they died. It was awarded a Silver Medal in the 2014 Living Now Book Awards. Along with its companion, My Living Memories Project Journal, it is a positive roadmap for uplifting, comforting, and healing the bereaved.
. Among those who have contributed personal stories are the following:
Author, actor, and raconteur Malachy McCourt, who presents his unique take on how he keeps alive the memory of his brother Frank (Angela s Ashes) through the Irish tradition of song and story.
TV Personality Nick Clooney, who keeps alive the memory of his sisters, Rosemary and Betty, through a museum, foundation, and special events, and who carries on his grandfather s values of social responsibility through his work on behalf of Darfur with his son, actor George Clooney.
Robert Meeropol, the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who established the Rosenberg Fund for Children.
Physician and musician Yeou-Cheng Ma, sister of famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who carries on their father s legacy through her work with The Children s Orchestra Society, which her father founded.
Liz and Steve Alderman, who lost their son Peter on 9/11 and created the Peter C. Alderman Foundation in his memory to assist trauma victims in Third World countries.
Lynda Johnson Robb, daughter of President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson who, through her work, keeps alive her mother s love of wildflowers.
Sherri Mandell who, following the murder of her 13-year-old son and his friend, created a foundation to help bring emotional, physical, and spiritual healing to bereaved children and adults.
Author and genealogist Arthur Kurzweil who, captivated as a child by his father s stories of their Polish ancestors, went on to write numerous books on genealogy.
The parents and sister of Air Force reservist Major Stuart Adam Wolfer killed in Iraq, who started the MSAWI Foundation in his memory for the benefit of Americans in military service.
A quilt designer who helps others preserve their memories of deceased loved ones through the creation of memory quilts.
A bride who began her wedding ceremony with a poem she wrote in honor of her mother, whom she lost when she was 12.
A woman who prepares her mother s favorite recipes in her honor.

Meryl Ain holds a BA from Queens College, an MA from Columbia University Teachers College, and an Ed.D. from Hofstra University. She began her career in education as a social studies teacher before she became an administrator. She is also a freelance writer specializing in issues related to education, families, parenting, and children and has contributed to Huffington Post, Newsday, the New York Jewish Week and the New York Times. She embarked on The Living Memories Project after she lost both her father and mother within a year and a half. She and her husband, Stewart, live on Long Island.

Arthur M. Fischman holds a BA from Queens College and a JD from Temple Law School. He is a freelance writer whose video and interactive scripts have won numerous awards, including a Telly, an ITVA Silver Award, and a New York Festivals Bronze World Medal. He co-wrote the award-winning documentary Ditital Dharma and has written radio, TV, and print ads for leading consumer product manufacturers. Arthur is a veteran speechwriter and ghostwriter, and was director of executive communications and internal communications for a Fortune 500 company. He lives in Philadelphia, where he also writes plays and moonlights as a jazz pianist.

Stewart Ain is a graduate of CW Post College and holds an MA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is an award-winning journalist with more than forty years of experience, and was a Pulitzer Prize nominee three times. He has reported for the New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Jewish Week, Long Island Business News, and Lifestyles Magazine. Stewart frequently appears on television and radio, and hosts his own weekly cable TV program, Jewish Life, and has been a regular guest on The Leon Charney Show. Both his parents died while he was working on The Living Memories Project.