Elaine Roberts Schaller
AUTHOR

Elaine Roberts Schaller

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Thank you for visiting my Author's page. I am a native New Yorker. I received my B.A from Queens College, CUNY in 1965 and an M.A. in English from Ohio State University two years later. I taught elementary education in the New Jersey school system. My first child, Cindy, was adopted. Jeffrey and Lauren were born in Connecticut. I have four stepchildren who live in Maryland. My husband and I live in Florida. My book, "Dear Cindy, Love Mom," was never meant to be a book. My daughter Cindy died suddenly of a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2007 at the young age of 33. I was devastated beyond description, and sought professional help immediately. At our first meeting, the grief counselor suggested that I begin to write. "Write what?" I asked. "Anything," she said, "you must describe your feelings, your emotions, write to your daughter." I sat at the computer that next day not knowing what do. Writing to Cindy felt bizarre. But I began, slowly at first, to write a letter to Cindy describing what had happened to her, as if she were asleep and had just awakened - although I knew full well that she was never going to awaken again. But, by writing I felt a connection to her that was profoundly satisfying and I continued to write to her each day for that first year. The writing became the cornerstone of my daily routine, a lifeline that helped preserve my sanity and my will to live. The letters are intensely personal, as all grief is personal. At the end of the first year, I looked back and understood that despite the bad days and bitter nights, I had made progress - there were brief glimpses of sunlight amid the gray fog of my grief. I was healing and realized that the letters might resonate with others going through the same agony I endured. That is how the book "Dear Cindy, Love Mom,” came about. In the several years since Cindy died I have poured my efforts into The Brain Aneurysm Foundation, the only non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding for research into brain aneurysms. I learned that ruptured brain aneurysms strike an estimated 30,000 people each year in the US. Half of these victims will die within 30 days and the majority of the survivors will suffer some degree of mental or physical impairment. My goal is to keep Cindy's memory alive and help raise money for research to find a cure for this awful disease and save others from the terrible loss that my family and I have suffered. I am a member of the Board of Directors of The Brain Aneurysm Foundation and co-founder of TeamCindy, a major fundraising component of the charity. TeamCindy encourages and enables elite athletes to compete in endurance events (i.e. marathons, triathlons and Ironman competitions) in Cindy's name, both in the US and internationally, and to raise awareness and money for aneurysm research. For more information, please visit www.teamcindy.org
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