An Afternoon with Anne Arbor and Sarah Lerner

Join us in Coral Gables for a moving conversation about , a memoir that traces one woman’s journey from childhood abandonment to unexpected caregiving. With unflinching honesty, the book explores complicated mother–daughter bonds, the emotional weight of becoming a caretaker, and the resilience it takes to build a life while carrying old wounds. Don’t miss this powerful discussion about love, loss, responsibility, and healing.

🎟 Free & open to the public — RSVP recommended.

At four years of age, Anne’s mother drops her off at her father’s place and drives away with her new boyfriend in a battered white pickup truck. Through the rest of her childhood and youth, she only sees her mother a handful of times. Life with her father is difficult, but she manages to build a successful life and career, eventually becoming a mother herself. Right after Anne turns forty, she learns her mother has stage four lung cancer. As the only person who can provide care, she is faced with a difficult choice: continue living her life at a safe distance, or step in and care for the mother who didn’t care for her. Told with raw honesty, A Mere Reflection of My Mother confronts the complexities of mother-daughter relationships and addresses the realities of being an unexpected caretaker while managing a career and a family as a single parent.

Anne Arbor is a single mother of twin teenage girls who lives in South Florida with their two dogs. She is a licensed mental health counselor and has worked in multiple settings, providing therapy in both public and private sectors for more than two decades. In her personal time, she enjoys photography, painting, writing, gardening, Uber-ing her daughters to activities, nature hikes, running, and, most recently, discovering yoga.

Sarah Lerner has taught for 24 years, and has been at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School since 2014. She advises the yearbook & newspaper at MSD, along with teaching senior English and Intro to Journalism. She is a co-founder of Teachers Unify To End Gun Violence, and is a survivor from the MSD shooting on Feb. 14, 2018. Lerner was the editor/writer for “Parkland Speaks,” published by Random House in Jan. 2019.

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