"The Pill" In Memory of Lael
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On July 26th, 2017 a shining star powerful beyond measure went out, leaving the world a little bit of a colder, darker place. The loss of Lael has been felt not only by her family and friends but also by those whose lives she touched only peripherally. Her otherworldly spirit, energy, kindness, compassion and ability to relate to the pain and hardship of others was legendary.
Lael's choice to ultimately end her own life came after a decade long struggle with depression and anorexia. Lael suffered from depression and an eating disorder that was so tormenting and had no particular outward cause that anyone could pinpoint. To the outside world she was a beautiful, brilliant, talented singer, songwriter, yogi and social butterfly with a wonderfully supportive and loving family. As her loved ones, the question “why” still haunts us. Why did Lael choose to take her own life and leave us with a world without Lael? As her beloved grandfather said at her funeral, it is a fruitless question. We will never know and we must stop looking for answers. We must choose to remember Lael as the beautiful soul she was and honor her memory in any way possible. This leads me to “The Pill.”
About three years ago Lael, her mother Marla and brother Yanai began writing a play together about a particular incident that happened in their TriBeCa loft when then 15-year-old Lael was wasting away from anorexia. “The Pill” highlights how mental illness effects an entire family and is seen through the perspective of different characters, all members of a wonderfully quirky downtown NYC family. It is a story of trying to save a child, sister, grandchild from self-destruction. I had the honor of being able to attend the first reading of “The Pill” this past March with Lael in attendance. It was an emotional rollercoaster, full of tears and laughs. One of Lael’s wishes was to see this play she co-wrote with her family succeed. She believed that inviting an audience into an intimate family crisis situation would allow more people to open up about mental health issues and hopefully seek help.
Please join me in donating to Lael Summer Feldman’s fund in order to make the production of “The Pill” at the La Mama theater in the East Village a reality next year (January 25-February 4, 2018). Any donation ($5, $10, $15…) helps tremendously and will allow Lael’s legacy to live on.
With Love and Endless Thanks,
Doria
Lael's choice to ultimately end her own life came after a decade long struggle with depression and anorexia. Lael suffered from depression and an eating disorder that was so tormenting and had no particular outward cause that anyone could pinpoint. To the outside world she was a beautiful, brilliant, talented singer, songwriter, yogi and social butterfly with a wonderfully supportive and loving family. As her loved ones, the question “why” still haunts us. Why did Lael choose to take her own life and leave us with a world without Lael? As her beloved grandfather said at her funeral, it is a fruitless question. We will never know and we must stop looking for answers. We must choose to remember Lael as the beautiful soul she was and honor her memory in any way possible. This leads me to “The Pill.”
About three years ago Lael, her mother Marla and brother Yanai began writing a play together about a particular incident that happened in their TriBeCa loft when then 15-year-old Lael was wasting away from anorexia. “The Pill” highlights how mental illness effects an entire family and is seen through the perspective of different characters, all members of a wonderfully quirky downtown NYC family. It is a story of trying to save a child, sister, grandchild from self-destruction. I had the honor of being able to attend the first reading of “The Pill” this past March with Lael in attendance. It was an emotional rollercoaster, full of tears and laughs. One of Lael’s wishes was to see this play she co-wrote with her family succeed. She believed that inviting an audience into an intimate family crisis situation would allow more people to open up about mental health issues and hopefully seek help.
Please join me in donating to Lael Summer Feldman’s fund in order to make the production of “The Pill” at the La Mama theater in the East Village a reality next year (January 25-February 4, 2018). Any donation ($5, $10, $15…) helps tremendously and will allow Lael’s legacy to live on.
With Love and Endless Thanks,
Doria
Organizer
Doria Dallos
Organizer
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