This week we have a very special friend of mine Quinn Neidig joining us to talk about her lesson “Wear Elastic Waistbands” – before you think this is about Pandemic Fashion trends – please listen to the beautiful metaphor unfold – about acceptance and the beauty of vulnerability. This is a very special show.
My wife and I met Quinn and her husband Joe 11 years ago in New York City diner. We attended the same church and cemented our friendship over a mid summer brunch in Union Square. We quickly found many similar interests and friends that we would share our lives with to this day.
We have been each other’s family.
Quinn is a High School Spanish teacher in the NYC Department of Education. Her investment into countless students over the past 10+ years has shown a relentless passion and an unyielding belief in each and every student she teaches.
In July of 2019, an unspeakable tragedy struck her family which is beyond any parents’ worst nightmare. Her son Marshall had a seizure in his sleep and died of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) – he had just turned two years old.
She shares her grief writing and often hashtags “normalize grief” as a way to make unspeakable loss, speak-able again. To give the grieving a voice in a world of carefully curated Social Media feeds.
During Marshall’s eulogy I asked “he may have been so young, but didn’t he teach us so much?”
Like her son, Quinn is someone who has something to teach all of us.
Someone who cares deeply for her family, her friends and her students
She is a person of endless grace, profound courage, and unimaginable wisdom.
Her grief writing and vulnerability will surely be her greatest legacy. A purpose she may not have never imagined.
She is simply the friend we all wish we had.