About Ruth
“I grew up in a nursing home – the family business – perhaps that enlarged my perspective about why we should do what we want while we can. Growing up among old people and then losing my husband in the Vietnam War in 1969 provided me with an early education about grief and resilience.”
Today, Ruth is focused on writing, and teaching the writing process, especially with aspiring writers who have personal stories they would like to share.
She received an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Bennington College, a PhD in Nutrition and Human Development from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Education from Tufts University. Along the way she also became a Registered Dietitian.
Ruth’s career in health care spanned the entire age spectrum. She focused on the family treatment of children with eating disorders and obesity at Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital while working as a counselor in private practice with families with ill children, and eventually became the administrator of a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center. But, throughout all of these endeavors, the creation of stories, essays and writing for the theater remained a centering focus. She found her ultimate joy as a full-time writer and writing workshop leader.
“I don’t regret any of my life experience. Everything has brought me to this moment – with a lot of stories to write.”
While managing a 100-bed skilled nursing facility she managed to squeeze in portrayals of Louisa May Alcott throughout New England in her one-person play, The Secret Life of Louisa May Alcott. Among numerous publications, her essay Sam’s Way, originally published in the Gettysburg Review, was listed in Best American Essays 2013, and an excerpt from her memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She serves as Chair of the Women & Girls Fund of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and as national newsletter editor of the Gold Star Wives of America.
She lives and writes in Mystic, Connecticut, and is the proud mother of her “main muse,” television, film and theater actor, Noah Bean.
