Filling Her Shoes

On the day that she decided to marry a widoweralso a long-time friendBetsy Graziani Fasbinder knew that she wasnt only gaining a husband, she was inheriting a son. Unlike many stepmothers, Betsy didnt have to struggle with an ex, or court battles, or the weekend shuffle between housesbut she did have to navigate living in the shadow of a young mother taken too soon, to honor the memory of her sons first mother, and to become the kind of parent and partner she herself wanted to be. Over time this family would learn how loves roots were formed in their shared losses, and how the new family love and joy they created together would become the richest kind of inheritance.