That’s a beautiful way to remember Susan, Nancy! I’m so glad you found the AWON group. Thanks for sharing.

I feel blessed having to know Susan. She was my hero. She was always very empathetic, loving and supportive. One memory of her that I will never forget is this. One day we were walking together in DC, and she told me she recently turned 60, which surprised me since she looked so much younger. What surprised me even more is that she said that she loved being 60, and then she jumped up and clapped her legs together in the air. I was only 34 at he time and this was very inspiring to me – it completely changed what I thought about age. She loved life like nobody else I knew.

A week before she got sick she gave me a testimonial on my poetry book. Even though we were not in touch much since I moved away from DC area 7 years ago, she was very happy to help me when I asked her to read over my poetry book, and her encouraging words would always be a guiding light for me.

Dr. Hadler was my therapist many years ago when I came to DC alone and lost. I had come to DC from an abusive rural Appalachia family. She was the kindest person I had ever met. When she decided to end her practice, she gave me a beautiful pitcher that was sitting in her office. She had tied a ribbon on the handle. The ribbon was from some cookies I had given her in the past. The pitcher with ribbon sits on my table always reminding me of her and what she taught me. She is my role model. I love you, Dr. Hadler.
Barbara