Linda Daly had
a seemingly charmed life: her mother Nancy was married to the head of
Warner Bros, and her parents were one of the most influential and
prominent couples in Los Angeles. Even their divorce couldn’t test the
bond between mother and daughter, and their family grew: her mother
married Dick Riordan, mayor of L.A.; her father married songwriter
Carole Bayer Sager. The extended family used their combined resources to
help a number of cultural and philanthropic concerns across the country
until they encountered the one thing they could not overcome: Nancy’s
diagnosis of stage four pancreatic cancer.
So mother and daughter teamed up
to begin a search for a miracle cure – a roller-coaster ride through the
rigors of western medicine, the surgeries and chemotherapies, and the
untested boundaries of alternative medicine. All along Linda stayed by
her mother’s side, facing the fear of the unknown, as she struggled with
both her mother’s diagnosis and her own lifelong issues with faith and
religion. Out of choices and almost out of time, Linda and her mother
put their rocky faith in one last pilgrimage: a visit to a Brazilian
faith healer, John of God, during his residence in upstate New York.
Fleeing the dubious practices of the faith healer, and with Nancy’s time quickly running out, Linda and her siblings embarked on a final road trip home, in a rented, unruly RV, to bring Nancy back to her beloved City of Angles. What Linda learned on their final pilgrimage together would change her forever and speaks to the issues faced by many adult sons and daughters today: how to help those who gave you life face the end of their own.
Ultimately, The Last Pilgrimage is Linda’s love letter to her mother, proof that the end of life can offer a peaceful and comforting farewell. Nancy’s final gift to her daughter was a single moment of serenity that came with the most incredible sensation of being brushed with a thousand feathers. Peace like none other. Linda finally realized that the journey she needed to make was an interior one; that even when life is untidy, it’s ever changing patterns can be exciting and fulfilling. That closeness to God, and being a part of something larger than herself, could be found by anyone, even within the confines of an RV.
Nancy Daly Tribute by StopPancreaticCancer on YouTube
Daly is survived by her three grown children and five grandchildren.
“I am so glad Linda chose to write this story for two reasons. One, I think Linda is a very good writer —she writes with humor, sensitivity, insight, and depth. Two, because I believe that Linda’s account of Nancy Daly’s final days after her courageous battle with pancreatic cancer should be read. It is a story of love and strength; the importance of family and friends, and mostly about a woman who refused to see the bottle as half empty even when it was down to its last ounces.” —Carole Bayer Sager
"I suppose I’ll have to dress up more.” In My Mother's Shoes . . .
Nancy Daly’s shoes were legendary, her collection vast. Maybe not Imelda Marcos vast, but what Imelda had in quantity, my mom had in quality. Louboutin, Chanel, Prada, Dior, Choo were just some of the A-list residents of her closet—complete with feathers, sculpted heels, animal skins and fabulous stones. All colors and elevations were welcomed. So speculation was rampant as to where they would end up. Little did anyone know, those shoes were meant for me.
What came as a shock to those who knew Nancy and Linda. Linda the Birkenstock member of the family, the one with dirty unpainted fingernails, who talks too much about the virtues of greening one’s life. Boots, clogs and flip-flops are Linda's footwear of choice. Nevertheless, when asked after her mom’s funeral where Nancy's collection would go, Linda plainly answered, “Into my closet.”
Linda Daly is a former teacher, working for a decade with some of L.A.’s most challenging children, before starting a family of her own. Her philanthropic work began with development and fundraising at local nonprofit organizations, including a six-month consulting job at the International Medical Corps. She served as the environmental expert at the Los Angeles Times Magazine, where she also maintained the blog “Pretty in Green,” focusing on the lighter side of green issues. Linda has been a founding Board member of Vintage Hollywood, which raises funds to help children in Southern California; and Global Hunger Foundation, which seeks to alleviate hunger around the globe through small grants to women’s groups interested in sustainable farming. She has traveled to Eastern Chad to visit Darfuri refugee camps; to Rwanda to commemorate an anniversary of the genocide; and to the Kibera slum in Nairobi where she assisted women with AIDS. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. They have four dogs, a duck, a horse, and too many tomato plants.
Made A Difference: Nancy Daly was one of Los Angeles' most prominent activists on behalf of abused and neglected children. Her list of accomplishments as a philanthropist, activist, and arts leader is lengthy. Daly helped found United Friends of the Children to aid and support children in foster care, providing them with the opportunity to graduate from high school, attend and graduate from college. The organization also helps foster children get a job, find housing and have a support system that moves them gradually towards independence. In 1984, Daly successfully lobbied for the creation of what is now the county Department of Children and Family Services and served on its advisory commission until 1999. Daly helped found the Children's Action Network, which uses the power of the entertainment community to increase awareness about children’s issues. The Children's Action Network works to find homes for the more than 114,000 children in the United States foster care system who are waiting for an adoptive family.
The Last Pilgrimage will be available on May 7, 2013.
The Review Accommodates Many Voices!
"Proximity was their support; like walls after an earthquake they could fall no further for they had fallen against each other."-- Elizabeth Bowen, Friends and Relations 1931.
Thanks for Visiting!!!
 |
| The Last Pilgrimage |
Fleeing the dubious practices of the faith healer, and with Nancy’s time quickly running out, Linda and her siblings embarked on a final road trip home, in a rented, unruly RV, to bring Nancy back to her beloved City of Angles. What Linda learned on their final pilgrimage together would change her forever and speaks to the issues faced by many adult sons and daughters today: how to help those who gave you life face the end of their own.
Ultimately, The Last Pilgrimage is Linda’s love letter to her mother, proof that the end of life can offer a peaceful and comforting farewell. Nancy’s final gift to her daughter was a single moment of serenity that came with the most incredible sensation of being brushed with a thousand feathers. Peace like none other. Linda finally realized that the journey she needed to make was an interior one; that even when life is untidy, it’s ever changing patterns can be exciting and fulfilling. That closeness to God, and being a part of something larger than herself, could be found by anyone, even within the confines of an RV.
Nancy Daly Tribute by StopPancreaticCancer on YouTube
Daly is survived by her three grown children and five grandchildren.
“I am so glad Linda chose to write this story for two reasons. One, I think Linda is a very good writer —she writes with humor, sensitivity, insight, and depth. Two, because I believe that Linda’s account of Nancy Daly’s final days after her courageous battle with pancreatic cancer should be read. It is a story of love and strength; the importance of family and friends, and mostly about a woman who refused to see the bottle as half empty even when it was down to its last ounces.” —Carole Bayer Sager
"I suppose I’ll have to dress up more.” In My Mother's Shoes . . .
 |
| In My Mother's Shoes . . . |
Nancy Daly’s shoes were legendary, her collection vast. Maybe not Imelda Marcos vast, but what Imelda had in quantity, my mom had in quality. Louboutin, Chanel, Prada, Dior, Choo were just some of the A-list residents of her closet—complete with feathers, sculpted heels, animal skins and fabulous stones. All colors and elevations were welcomed. So speculation was rampant as to where they would end up. Little did anyone know, those shoes were meant for me.
What came as a shock to those who knew Nancy and Linda. Linda the Birkenstock member of the family, the one with dirty unpainted fingernails, who talks too much about the virtues of greening one’s life. Boots, clogs and flip-flops are Linda's footwear of choice. Nevertheless, when asked after her mom’s funeral where Nancy's collection would go, Linda plainly answered, “Into my closet.”
Linda Daly is a former teacher, working for a decade with some of L.A.’s most challenging children, before starting a family of her own. Her philanthropic work began with development and fundraising at local nonprofit organizations, including a six-month consulting job at the International Medical Corps. She served as the environmental expert at the Los Angeles Times Magazine, where she also maintained the blog “Pretty in Green,” focusing on the lighter side of green issues. Linda has been a founding Board member of Vintage Hollywood, which raises funds to help children in Southern California; and Global Hunger Foundation, which seeks to alleviate hunger around the globe through small grants to women’s groups interested in sustainable farming. She has traveled to Eastern Chad to visit Darfuri refugee camps; to Rwanda to commemorate an anniversary of the genocide; and to the Kibera slum in Nairobi where she assisted women with AIDS. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. They have four dogs, a duck, a horse, and too many tomato plants.
Made A Difference: Nancy Daly was one of Los Angeles' most prominent activists on behalf of abused and neglected children. Her list of accomplishments as a philanthropist, activist, and arts leader is lengthy. Daly helped found United Friends of the Children to aid and support children in foster care, providing them with the opportunity to graduate from high school, attend and graduate from college. The organization also helps foster children get a job, find housing and have a support system that moves them gradually towards independence. In 1984, Daly successfully lobbied for the creation of what is now the county Department of Children and Family Services and served on its advisory commission until 1999. Daly helped found the Children's Action Network, which uses the power of the entertainment community to increase awareness about children’s issues. The Children's Action Network works to find homes for the more than 114,000 children in the United States foster care system who are waiting for an adoptive family.
The Last Pilgrimage will be available on May 7, 2013.
The Review Accommodates Many Voices!
"Proximity was their support; like walls after an earthquake they could fall no further for they had fallen against each other."-- Elizabeth Bowen, Friends and Relations 1931.
Thanks for Visiting!!!
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