alexandra mosca
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Happy Birthday Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell was born 126 years ago today. She shares a birthday with my best friend, and she died on mine. I was a teenager when I first read Gone With the Wind and became utterly entranced by its sweeping historical narrative (from that moment on, I was hooked on historical fiction). I was captivated…
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On All Souls Day: Why Place Matters
On All Souls Day, this eloquent piece by Faith Bottum in The Wall Street Journal speaks to a subject that is near and dear to us, and one that I have often written about: what is lost when the dead are separated from the places that anchor memory, mourning, and remembrance. With cremation now far…
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The Children of Green-Wood
Remembering Victorian Childhood Through Stone and Memory During the Victorian era, childhood was precious but also very fragile. Without antibiotics, vaccines, or modern medicine, families faced the constant risk of losing a child to illness, accidents, or epidemics. Infant and child deaths were common, and grief was a regular part of family life. Green-Wood Cemetery…
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Winterbottom & Sons: A Funeral Home in the Tenderloin
New York’s funeral homes have always held remarkable stories—some solemn, some surprising, all deeply human. And unearthing old stories from the colorful early days of funeral service in NYC is one of my writing pleasures. This month in American Funeral Director, I explore one of the most colorful: Winterbottom & Sons on Sixth Avenue. It’s…
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A Librarian, a Conversation, and a Small Discovery
It started in the most unexpected place — the library. I was chatting with the librarian one afternoon when our conversation drifted from books to beauty products. I complimented her hair, and she told me how, during menopause, she’d struggled with excessive shedding. Her remedy, she said, was surprisingly simple: she switched from regular shampoo…
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Frank Morgan’s Legacy at Green-Wood Cemetery
Today’s post is a fun one—an unexpected mix of Hollywood lore, cemetery history, and the quiet, behind‑the‑scenes world of funeral service. It’s the kind of story I love sharing: a reminder that even in the most familiar places, there are always hidden corners, surprising connections, and lives whose legacies continue to ripple outward in ways…