Tributes to Catherine Young
If you would like to send your
tribute to Catherine Young, please send it vie email
. Thank you!
Page 5
To
Amanda, Rebecca and Zachary,
I know how much pain the three of you are in today and I want to tell you
what I know about the death of one's mother, from my own experience.
It just hurts like hell for months and the tears come at very
unpredictable times and over things that you wouldn't guess. The pain,
fear and loneliness you feel today will get better in time. Your Mom
is close by right now and, if you listen, pay attention and ask her she
will come to you in dreams, strange signs and through others still in the
body. This will not frighten you, it will give you comfort and make
you less afraid of dying yourself. The rawness of the pain will
lessen in a few months and then you will think you see her across the
street and realize that it's some other woman about the same age and
same "style" of dress as your Mom and you will wonder if that
woman's family really knows how precious she is. You'll wish you
could go to the family and tell them "Hold on tight to your Mom,
sniff in her essence, saturate yourself with her smell, listen to her
recite recipes to you and give you advice---you will hurt like hell when
she's gone and you don't have it anymore." You will find that
the three of you become closer and stronger as a unit of siblings and your
Mom would want that.
You will be the ones that your friends turn to when their parents die and
you will have a deep compassion for those who grieve. When you have
your own children, you will tell them what Catherine's favourite flower
was, your favourite dish she cooked, and the crazy times you had with her.
She would want that.
Your Mom was not meant to be just your Mother. She became the mother
of thousands of new mothers who she encouraged to breastfeed and to
nurture their babies. This probably cost you three a lot in terms of
hot meals, stories and attention. I want you to know that all of
those women are available to give back to you now and your Mom would want
that. She gave us so much. She truly understood the maxim
"Mother the mother and she will mother the baby." Even
though it cost a lot in terms of her own family, her life in service to
other families was time well spent.
She was very powerful with her pen and, as we know, it was mightier than a
sword. The power she had was to make others more powerful around
her. She was a great storyteller and fearless in her authenticity.
I think, more than anything else, that was what I was awed by. In
each issue of the magazine, we got a true recounting of the intimate life
of Catherine and her gang. Personally, I am so much more secretive and
committed to my own "looking good" and Catherine set an example
of openness and refreshing humanity. She never seemed to have it
"together", never pretended to, and produced amazing results
anyway.
I began attending births in 1981. In May of l985 a baby died at a
homebirth that my midwifery partner and I attended here in Vancouver. Your
mom was approached to help us raise the $50,000 that we would need to
defend ourselves against the physicians, state and public opinion.
Catherine supported us all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada where we
were acquitted in l991. I will never forget that. She
understood bullying and oppression and had no patience with it. She
spoke up and went to bat for the underdog, the voiceless, and the
downtrodden. I feel like her magazine was started in l985, right at
the time I needed her support so badly, because someone up above wanted me
to have a
guardian angel, Her wingspan as an angel was coast to coast.
Those of us who love her and got to know her through her writing will miss
her funny, caustic "take" on events. In one line of an editorial
she would be railing on like a sailor on the dockside and in the next she
would be waxing poetic about God. She loved a good joke, pretty
poetry, animals, raspberry leaves, men who danced, brave women, dripping
breasts and country life. Most of all she loved you three beautiful
babies of hers madly. You completed her life and she was so
incredibly proud of all of you. I remember when Amanda produced
"Birth Joy and Raspberry Leaves" ---what a proud producer of the
producer she was.
Thank
you, Amanda, for all the work you put into that. Thank you,
Rebecca, for taking on the magazine and thank you, Zachary, for being her
email wizard. Thank you a million times for being great kids for
her. You'll understand someday that giving birth to you was her best
accomplishment and what fueled everything else.
My deepest sympathy to your grandparents and your Dad-thank you to them
for the gift of Catherine.
She would often talk to me, even before the cancer, about knowing
that she was "on the right road home". I found that such a
beautiful turn of phrase and I know she has reached home. We are
poorer for her death. There will never be another quite like her. I
am so glad I knew her and I miss her terribly. My heart is with you
today and if you need a Mom to talk to, I'll do my best to stand in for
her. I love you.
Gloria Lemay, Vancouver, BC
Sept 13, 2001
of course I am sitting here
completely in tears, feeling awful that I had never gotten around to
telling Catherine she was right:
I ordered a huge batch of The Mother tea when I was seven weeks pregnant,
drank quarts and quarts of it, throughout my pregnancy, Catherine had told
me when we spoke that if I drank the tea throughout I'd have a five hour
labor, and you
know what? I did! AND... it was a home VBAC, with
a ten pound twelve ounce baby girl, Clara, over an intact perineum. Catherine
was one of the amazing women who helped me along my way, to the amazing
birth of Clara.
I will miss you, Catherine.
love,
Laura
"NY tea drinker" as I was known on one of Catherine's mass
email routing lists
New York City
I was shocked to hear today that
Catherine has passed away. How odd that someone I have never even
met and who lives so far away can have touched my life so.
Catherine's dedication to Compleat Mother and her wonderful editorials
have been so inspiring. The continuation of this amazing
magazine will be a fitting tribute to her. My prayers are with her
family and with those of you who keep up the good work she did so well.
I feel
privileged to belong to this worldwide family of strong women.
Love
Caroline Long, Lincolnshire, U.K.
I send my prayers and sympathy
to all Catherine's family and friends. She has been a friend to me,
although I never met her face to face. Through her
magazine and e-mails, she has given me support as I raise my 4 living
children. Since I was given my first Compleat Mother, she has supported me
through four of my children's home births, three of which were
miscarriages.
It meant a lot to me when she published my letters and poems. During
my years as a La Leche leader, I used a lot of the factual information
from the magazine too. Her advocacy for breastfeeding has helped so
many, and encouraged many others to join her fight. May her loving
care continue through each of us who's lives she has touched.
Lu Johnston
Here is a prayer that has brought me comfort. Please share it with
anyone
you think it may help:
We seem to give them back to You, O God, who gave them to us. Yet as You
did not lose them in giving, so we do not lose them by their return.
Life is eternal and love is immortal and death is only a horizon, And a
horizon is nothing except the limit of our sight.
Lift us up that we may see further;
cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly;
draw us closer to Yourself that we may know ourselves to be neared to our
loved ones
Who are with You.
I extend my sincere condolances
to Cathereine's family and friends. I know that my heart rejoiced the day
I found The Complete Mother magazine. I felt at home, safe and secure
among friends of like mind. She will surely be missed by many as well as
by me. Thank you Catherine for being a beacon to
all of us. Sincerely, Vivian G. Dietemann
[email protected]
I am so sorry. I am a
recent subscriber to your wonderful , inspiring, educational, truthful,
loving, powerful, magazine and I thank you Catherine
Anna Young. Your words forever touched my heart and life, and my
children's.
Love to your friends and family
Denise
From: Linda Mellway
McIntyre, midwife Acknowledged in 'Mother's Favourites' "who
shared the excitement of her profession in legible longhand on sheets of
yellow paper" - We have lost a great person. She shared her
life with us, gave us dreams to reach for, goals to establish, and hope
for the future. Her legacy will
live on in our own children and grandchildren. They have already
benefited from her wisdom and determination in remaining committed to
better family values thro birthing and breastfeeding via the Compleat
Mother. Thank you, Cathy.
Love your friend,
Linda,
Mother of seven
My condolences to the family and
friends of Catherine Young. I never met her, or spoke to her in
person. I knew her through her magazine. I am happy to hear that it
will remain in publication. When i became pregnant with my first
child, i ordered a subscription. Reading Compleat Mother changed my
attitude regarding parenting, and much more. I became the first
person in our family to breastfeed in many generations. I have been
breastfeeding now for 6 1/2 yrs..my oldest weaned on her own at 4 yrs..and
i have a 2 1/2yr nursling. We also have a family bed, attachment
parent, use positive guidance and are intending to homeschool. We
have remained a one income family, live simply and try to be kind to the
earth and it's inhabitants. All of this from a two income, name
brand buying, have it all, follow the pack couple. I have such a
strong bond with my girls, and know in my heart nursing my children
provided a solid foundation to build it on. Compleat Mother told me
it was ok to nurse..and for as long as was comfortable for us. It taught
me to begin to question the status quo...a habit which sometimes annoys my
family and friends, but one i intend to continue developing. To
touch one life so greatly is an accomplishment in life..to touch so many
lives so greatly is an inspiration to all of us...the real definition of a
life well lived. Thank you Catherine, for reminding me to think for
myself and listen to the little voice inside..
Shannon Ophee
Hello, I just got the email that Catherine
Young passed on. I wanted to do something, so I bought my best
friend a subscription to CM in her memory. Even though I did not
know Catherine personally, she touched me in many ways. Every time I
would open my new copy of CM I would immediately read her editorial to see
how she was doing. She and CM have inspired me to be a better
mother. When I get my copy of CM I am happy to know that I am not
the only person out there with these ideals. Thank you CM for
supporting the many mothers like myself. My sympathies go out to her
family and the CM family as well.
Sincerely,
Susan Schermerhorn, Denton, Texas
Thank you so much
for giving all of us who are indebted to Catherine the opportunity to
express our thanks.
I have a lovely poem written by
Charlotte
Tall
Mountain
that to me says, �Catherine.�
�For the love of
a tree, she went out on a limb.
For the love of
the sea, she rocked the boat.
For the love of
the earth, she dug deeper.
For the love of
community, she mended fences.
For the love of
the stars, she let her light shine.
For the love of
spirit, she nurtured her soul.
For the love of a
good time, she sowed seeds of happiness.
For the love of
the Goddess, she drew down the moon.
For the love of
nature, she made compost.
For the love of a
good meal, she gave thanks.
For the love of
family, she reconciled differences.
For the love of
creativity, she entertained new possibilities.
For the love of
her enemies, she suspended judgment.
For the love of
herself, she acknowledged her worth.
And the world was
richer for her.�
Had it not been
for Catherine I would never have as strenuously voiced my objections to
the
Nestle products being distributed in our hospitals and boycotted
purchasing their products for
the
last 3 years. Just this week I was at a study session with 5 birthing
professionals who expressed
surprise
that I wouldn�t eat the dessert that was made once I saw the Nestle can
sitting on the table.
They asked
�why?� With Catherine�s
spirit in my heart I was able to do so in a way that reminded them
of
our promise to promote the best for ALL the babies in our community.
May Catherine�s legacy live on
in
every breastfed baby we see.
Abrazos,
Joni
Guadalajara
,
Mexico
My Experiences of Catherine
Young
-by Leilah McCracken www.birthlove.com
I knew her only from afar, in the way I know quite a few good people-
through the online written word. Her words to me were always very brief
and
to the point... mine were far more long-winded.
It occurs to me that she was far wiser than I- why spend precious,
precious time sitting in front of a computer? Looking back on one's days,
what will
one find fonder to recall- typing and staring into an empty screen, or...
everything else? This is what Catherine taught me: to seize the day, to
not waste time- to get the hell away from the shackles of artificial life
and
artificial outputs of soul when all around me is the real, the beautiful,
the crucial, the dear... and while I must indeed spend considerable time
on my website and writing to mind my calling to serve birth, I won't spend
a moment more than I have to. What will I want to recall on my last day of
human life on Earth... time spent staring at the computer screen- or into
my children's eyes?
And while Catherine in flesh is gone now, her spirit will live on- always
and ineffably- in the hearts of those who love women and babies. When the
lovers of babies and birth die, their love provides the fuel for a million
life changes- that is- they nurture the passion that fuels the lovers of
birth to heal birth for the women of the world. And whenever one of us
feels a vibrant chill- a shuddering essence of a glowing- a tangible
impetus from beyond to move forward in our crucial work in birth and
breastfeeding- we will feel Catherine. We will feel her in us- providing
us with power,
dignity, confidence... because through death we return again to the
massive, magnificent sum of the Birthing Spirit... and our love- just as
our cause-
can never die.
The world mourns your passing, Catherine... but your love lives on- you
will always live on. In memory, yes- but also as real, tangible soul- your
fire and beauty will soar on forever.
Please know that my prayers
for the family and fellows
missionaries to better parenting and birthing are going forth this
minute...
Heaven must have gotten pretty crowded this morning!
Cathi-aspiring Midwife,Doula, mother of Annie 11/23/77(hospital),Dana
1/17/81(First homebirth),and Jeremiah 3/24/89 (first unassisted
homebirth).Southside Virginia's Birth Choice Advocate!Visit us at
<http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/9015>-Aspiring
Midwives Farm
Please accept my sincere
condolences. I love Catherine and her magazine and will pray for her soul
and her family.
Mary
Jozwiak IBCLC
Lactation Consultant, LLL leader, PL, mama to 3 children, writer
A
mother, with a newborn child, would understand this more than anyone.
How can we do this, in a world where new and tiny children are
born, children who are so full of love?
We should care for life as an expectant mother cares for the life
that is in her womb.
We should greet life as a mother greets the child she has been
awaiting, at the moment of the child's birth, with boundless love and
gratitude.
We are beginning to be lost when together we create a society where
the miracle and joy of life is not celebrated, and where there is
resentment and anger.
A new mother lives in the presence of life as a miracle.
The more we learn of life, the deeper our humility, and the more
natural it is for our hearts to suddenly give thanks for this bounty we
experience each day.
We
may give thanks for the lives of our loved ones, for the lessons life
gives us, and for the life of every being in the world.
For, the world is a continuum, and all of our lives are
interconnected, directly interelated.
A tree, a bird, a bear, a river, a human, even the sky... these are
all our precious teachers.
Last night, the stars were so clear in the sky, it seemed that many
worlds were watching this drama here on Earth, these critical moments,
offering us guidance and concern.
One thing is clear:
our life is about being here with love.
May I look into myself, and see in my negative thoughts and
emotions a reflection of the outbreak of darkness that we saw this week.
Let us see, once and for all, that hatred in any form, for any
reason, even in its most incipient forms, is the cause of suffering in the
world.
I paraphrase the Dalai Lama, because I cannot remember his exact
words:
"Kindness, love and tolerance are not luxuries... they are
something we cannot live without."
I was deeply saddened to
learn of Catherine's too early death. She has been in my thoughts
ever since she let the readers of Compleat Mother know she was fighting
this terrible disease. It is because of Catherine and her
magazine that my life is where it is now.
When I was pregnant at the
age of 16 a dear family friend, who also happens to be Catherine's
sister-in-law, gave me two early copies of Compleat Mother. I
absolutely drank them up and immediately wanted more.
The magazine and the
stories of beauty, strength and endurance helped me to survive and escape
an abusive relationship and to keep my new son healthy, breastfed and
uncircumcised. He is now a happy, smart nine year old.
Catherine and the magazine were also pivotal in my decision to become a
midwife. I'm not there yet but my goal is within my grasp. The
day that Catherine died was my second "official" day of classes
in the Nursing program at UCC in Kamloops BC. When I am done here I
will go to UBC to
complete their brand new Midwifery degree program. It's not as
radical as we'd all like but it's the best route to my goal that I have
found. I know school will be hard but when I am down I will think of
Catherine and her incredible strength and optimism and all that she has
done for the world and I will continue along the road to midwifery
practice.
I send my blessings and
thoughts to Catherine's family and friends in their time of heartache and
change. My image of Catherine will always be that of her standing in
the raspberry patch, the sun setting behind her, the warm summer air like
a golden cloud surrounding her as she eats berries straight off the bush.
The feeling of tranquility is all around her.
Good-bye Catherine, you
will be missed more than you could ever know.
Sincerely,
Hanna Embree
Kamloops, BC
(formerly of Dawson Creek BC)
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