Yona Eichenbaum
AUTHOR & STORYTELLER
A masterful storyteller, Yona shines a light on seemingly simple, ordinary events that make life extraordinary.
Chris Schipke
Writer and Former Creative Director
An Excerpt from Growing Joy: Finding Safe Passage to Grandmotherhood
I'm a "don't count your chickens before they hatch" kind of person. It's the baggage I carry on life's journeys, large or small. On learning that our first grandchild was on the way, I struggled with how to manage my elation. And I wrestled with the baggage threatening to weigh me down on the happy road ahead.
Growing Joy is the story of how I lightened the load and found
safe passage to grandmotherhood. It is also a story of how our families, scattered across the country, stayed connected and shared the journey.
I know I am not alone. There are others who avoid premature expressions of happiness. But in doing so, they deny themselves
the pleasure of the journey, as I almost did. This story is for them. And is also for those blessed with greater optimism, who might welcome a tale of safe passage to new and joyous beginnings.
I hope my book inspires expectant parents, eager to share their excitement during those long months of waiting, to stay connected with their families and others they love. I hope too, that they find in it the seeds for sharing their own journey.
A masterful storyteller, Yona shines a light on seemingly simple, ordinary events that make life extraordinary. Perhaps colored by the fact that she is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Yona’s stories are rich with insight, disarmingly honest, and ultimately revealing – not only of herself, but of ourselves. As with her book, Growing Joy, she moves the reader with stealth-like precision through a series of events that give way to big, underlying emotion. In this way, Yona reminds us all that if we dare to look just beneath the surface of life, what we find may be deeply beautiful.
Chris Schipke
Writer and Former Creative Director
Published Works
About Me
Following a career in advertising, in which she used words to describe the merits and virtues of products and brands, Yona Eichenbaum has moved her sights closer to home. These days she writes about the myriad gifts and pleasures, and the occasional challenges of her own life.
Her essays have appeared in a variety of publications. She lives in Glencoe, a small town bordering Lake Michigan, just north of Chicago.