Yvonne Lancaster

Born in Worcester, MA, Yvonne is a former newspaper columnist and is the recipient of numerous writing awards from United Press International, Massachusetts Press Association and New England Press Association for her column From the Heart. Currently, she writes short stories, poetry and is a still life painter. She is co-author of Every Step of the Way: How Four Mother’s Coped with Child Loss (2006) and From the Heart, Sketches from Life (1985). She was named Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women of America. She is currently working on her first novel. Her website is http://www.yvonnelancaster.com.

Articles:

Last Words With

Coming home was a tough time of day. It signaled the end of the occupational work day, and the beginning of the personal work evening…preparing dinner, doing laundry, taxiing kids, whatever else kept me going until 11 p.m. My 5 p.m. homecoming blues had often been softened by seeing my oldest son Brian’s familiar dark blue Chevy Citation sitting in the driveway. His bumper stickers read: “Free the Beaches” and “Save the Whales.” My heart was always warmed to know I’d raised a son who was a caring person. As I deftly balanced grocery bags, a trick I’ve learned over the […]

Suicide Leaves Family Struggling to Cope

It was the light fingernail tapping sound on the window that put my dog Minnie on high-alert. She was barking and running around in circles with her usual reliable vigilance. Before I left my easy-chair, I quickly glanced at the clock on the end-table. It was 9:05 PM. I wasn’t expecting anyone. I thought it was late for an unexpected visitor. I turned on the porch light and peeked through the glass pane before I unlocked the door. My sister Claire and her friend Roger stood in the dim light under the shadow of the porch’s small roof. “Oh my […]

Whispered Words

It has been nearly 25 years since my son Brian was killed by a drunk driver. He was 19 years old. We miss him terribly. Life has never been the same without him. When I use the word “same,” it conjures memories of my children playing in the back yard, watching Sesame Street, doing homework, off to school and church and celebrating their accomplishments, both big and small. It was a time where innocence and everyday challenges intermingled with hope. We had our dreams and plans for a bright and happy future. Brian’s tragedy was a significant life-changing event for […]

How Rose Reached Across Time to Comfort Me

In high school, I worked as a kitchen aide in a nearby rest home. The home was a beautiful Victorian, formerly owned by a prominent business man. Throughout renovations to accommodate the elderly, the façade pretty much remained the same: three stories with steep roof pitches, an attention-grabbing turret and a few new dormers. The porches were large with hand-turned posts. The decorative railings and ornate gable trim gave the home an Edwardian look and feel. The home was on a quiet street lined with elms which shaded the porches on sunny days. My main duties seemed quite simple enough: […]

Votives for Remembrance

The holidays are a particularly difficult time for many families who are yearning for their loved ones, no matter how long they have been gone. My grandmother, Georgiana, out-lived my grandfather, Arsene, by 25 years. Not a day went by without her missing him. Often, we would visit her. She was a warm and loving person with calm blue eyes who gave birth to 17 children. She never spoke about how difficult it was raising so many, but rather looked at her life as a blessing, filled with many challenges only faith, hope and love could conquer. My grandmother kept the […]

Let Your Last Wishes Be Known

Evelyn Rose was my mother. She was a devout Catholic born at the turn of the twentieth-century. She never questioned dogma, doctrine or the infallibility of the pope. She believed we were put here on earth by God for a short time and that our life was a test of our choices about good and evil. How well we did in our earthly trials determined our fate in the afterlife. She believed, with all of her heart, that the greatest peace and happiness one could ever imagine would be seeing the face of the Creator and reuniting with her loved […]

Sand Dollar Helps Mom Deal With Tidal Waves in Life

The creamy white sand dollars felt velvety and cool moving through my fingers. I had removed them from the kitchen windowsill, attempting to examine them more closely. I was hoping to discover something new about them, hoping to learn why they are so good at surviving constant changes. Sand dollars, introduced to me by my now-deceased son, have spawned many stories. “Legends of the Sand Dollar” is the tale of five doves that live inside a sand dollar; when the sand dollar is opened, it spreads good will and peace. Equally sweet is another legend that declares that sand dollars are mermaid’s money, […]

My Father, My Hero

When I was a little girl, I fell from our tree swing. I was gently picked up and carried into the house where Band-Aids were carefully placed on my scuffed-up knees. My tears were dried with methodic tender dabs. Through my sobs, I could hear the calming and reassuring words of my father, who we called Papa, “It’s alright, Pee Wee. You’ll be just fine. No more tears, now,” he said. This was one instance of the many rescues my father took part in throughout my girlhood years. It doesn’t seem that long ago. I was his front-seat passenger, tagging […]

The Season of Renaissance

By Yvonne Lancaster — The yard was still icy near the fence where it hides from the lowering sun. As a brave New Englander who shoveled her way through the long months of winter, it was heartening to see and feel the crusty brown earth beneath my feet and see crocuses peeking at me with their little green buds. Since childhood, I have always enjoyed the changing seasons. In many ways, nature taught me about life, death and many things that matter. In the summer, we were allowed to play outside until the street lights came on. In the fall, […]

Film Review: Steel Magnolias

Reviewed by Yvonne Lancaster — “Steel Magnolias,” directed by Herbert Ross, includes the cast of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, Kevin O’Connor and Sam Shepard. The story centers around six women customers at Truvy’s Beauty Parlor in a small Louisiana town. They share gossip and good natured ribbing as they deal with the joys, sadness and the trials and tribulations of their everyday lives. Through their strong and lively personalities and their different points of view, each woman has her own unique way of expressing love, loss, pain and […]

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