Openings: Notes From a Transparent Heart

Linda Cochrane values being a parent. She’s quick to tell you she is no model of perfection, that the focus of her life so far has been about embracing the light, joyful moments as well as the wrenching, lost feelings of not being enough. Her stories are not all about her children, but if you listen closely, they are everywhere because they are the ones who taught her about courage, telling the truth, and expanding the boundaries of how much love and pain a heart can hold. When she isn’t working on her latest essay, she is a volunteer for hospice, a massage therapist, and a passionate gardener. She grew up in Bellevue, Washington on the edge of a forest—a magical place of solace that seeded her dreams of a better life. She makes her home in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, Charles and their orange tabby, Baby Naubert.