Celebration of Sisters

Book excerpt: For Judy Lipson, her sisters were her compass, constant, champions, and competitors and for thirty years she suppressed the grief of losing her two beloved sisters. Judy lost her younger sister Jane at age twenty-two in an automobile accident and nine years later her older sister Margie at age thirty-five to a twenty year battle with anorexia and bulimia. It was not until 2011 that Judy began her journey to mourn for Margie and Jane. Judy experienced the reality that those who lose siblings are the forgotten mourners and they are left to take care of their parents and children. The impact of their loss takes a back seat. Through her participation and work prescribed in a complicated grief study, Judy learned to restore her well-being, happy memories of her sisters, and the passion the three of them had for figure skating. By bringing her sisters and their memories together more present in her life, Judy found peace. To honor the memory of her sisters, Judy created and continues to hold, Celebration of Sisters, an annual ice skating fundraiser which benefits Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the story of how Judy used her memories and their shared love of ice skating to come full circle. When she performs on the ice, Judy feels Margie and Jane on each shoulder guiding her and whispering in her ear, "Judy, you've got this." This is a story of love, grief, and moving forward, even years after the loss.