A call to remembrance and words from a survivor, the poet Iren Steier, that bring the reality of the past to inform the present

My Family’s Journey Through Loss, Reunion, and Remembrance

I recall a poignant personal story I wrote about my reunion with an aged cousin of my mother during a visit to Israel, who was believed lost in a Nazi death camp. Her location was revealed through a letter my mother gave me before her death. The realization now is that it was the deepest and darkest proximity I’ve experienced to the heart of tragedy, human cruelty, and the depravity of others toward humanity, the evilest side of humankind, inflicted on vulnerable people by one of the most sinister forces in the history of our civilization. It also shows the resilience and the beaming forth of the human spirit, and our greatest strength and power to reach the highest state of enlightenment and pure spirit.

As a child in the late 1940s, my mother took me to a local shoe repair shop on Upshur Street in Washington, DC. The shop was near the row-house community where we lived. The struggling shoemaker, among his buzzing machines, appeared to be a quiet, humble man, his face worn by years of struggle and hardship. He had an unfamiliar accent. My mother knew he was from Hungary, where her parents had lived before migrating to this country in the late 1800s. My mother showed him letters she had recently received from a cousin, Iren, her age, whom she had visited as a small child with her mother while seeing their family in Hungary before the war years. I understood that a terrible war had occurred in Eastern Europe, and it was over with the German defeat.

Cultivating Lifestyle, Connectedness, and Embodiment for Sustainable Change and Transformation

A Beginning and the Foundation

Early in my career, I completed a residency in internal medicine and then in psychiatry. The most notable aspect was the teaching and academic component, which required absorbing a large volume of information and concepts about the practice and administration of care and treatment, based on the consensus of the day’s educational and scientific community. The second component, initially interwoven with the first, involved working with patients, practicing the art of diagnosis and care, and setting up treatment plans—mostly centered on the psychotherapies considered mainstream at the time, and prescribing medication and other physical-oriented therapies.

There was hope and intention on the part of the residency programs and senior faculty that the teachings, concepts, and wisdom from experienced teachers would be incorporated into our memories for future application. It was further expected that the blending of the remembered with hands-on experience would be more deeply embodied and shaped into remembered, actionable, and ethical behavior to best serve future patients.

The Loss of the Reiners: A Cautionary Tale

The tragic and shocking news report

The recent knife attack that resulted in the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, shocked the global community. Both were widely known and admired for their remarkable contributions to the entertainment industry, their generosity to various causes, activism to support others’ rights, and their advocacy for democratic organizations. Rob Reiner was especially beloved for his memorable acting roles and the classic, creative films he directed. Despite their public successes, the Reiner family faced personal challenges familiar to many families with disabled or emotionally struggling members—especially those dealing with substance use disorders and related mental health issues.