Benjamin Goldberg, of blessed memory, made Wendy Coleman Goldberg a mother, a founder of the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, and most recently, an author. Instead of testing it or severing the bond, his death from neuroblastoma at age eight, made their mother-son connection less breakable.
Goldberg, a Strelitz International Academy past board president and former SIA board member, says she wrote Mom’s Book: It was Never About the Grief to offer readers what she needed as Ben’s cancer upended their daily lives. “When we were going through this journey with Ben, shuttling back and forth from New York to Virginia Beach, I didn’t have anything like this to read. The stories at the time were full of sorrow, without a sense of lift.”
The collection of essays, which releases August 25, is already resonating with bereaved families, healthcare professionals, and others open to reshaping the impact of grief on their closest relationships.
Benjamin Goldberg Foundation is now in its ninth year. Earlier this year, Sentara Healthcare announced its partnership with BGF to study art-based cancer interventions. Music, dance, and meditation didn’t change Ben’s story’s ending, but it made his life fighting cancer much sweeter.
“That’s why I created the foundation,” says Goldberg. “My family had access to the best integrative therapies, but that’s not a universal experience. And though Ben did not beat the disease, these modalities made him feel less beaten down. When the day went better, the treatment went better.”
Memory and music ensure Ben’s presence is felt throughout this collection of essays about love after goodbye.
At the book signing, a “Mom’s Tea” made from the shop’s new urban Tea Garden with lemon balm and tulsi, will be served to complement the book’s healing spirit.
Mom’s Book can be purchased on Amazon, or at Roast Rider the day of the event.
Roast Rider Coffee is located at 1577 General Booth Blvd, Suite 107 in Virginia Beach.
Contact Wendy Goldberg at 757-968-3974 for more information.