Eileen was born and lived her entire life (except for college) in Baltimore, Maryland. When she was six years old, her mother suggested that instead of reading to her, Eileen should read to her mom. From then on, she became an avid reader. She spent many enjoyable hours at the Enoch Pratt Library and at home curled up on the living room sofa with many books.
At the University of Maryland College Park, Eileen majored in Speech Communications (minor in English) with the hopes of being a writer and researcher in the broadcast industry. These jobs were scarce, especially in Baltimore. For many years, she was employed in several, unfulfilling administrative positions.
Eileen’s midlife work crisis happened when she was in her 40s. She went for career counseling and testing through Maryland New Directions. To no surprise, the testing showed that working with words was her true passion. Coincidentally, a freelance editor friend offered Eileen the chance to assist in copyediting a medical textbook. She loved it and began freelancing as a medical editor for journals and textbooks for a local publisher. In her early 50s, she held a full-time job at Sinai Hospital’s Cancer Institute as the editorial research assistant for Dr. Alan Levine and Dr. Albert Aboulafia.
After retiring at age 60, Eileen returned to Sinai as a volunteer in its medical library. She now volunteers for Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. (CHAI) in Northwest Baltimore, where she edits and co-writes CHAI’s older adult newsletter, Staying Connected. In her “next life,” Eileen would like to come back as the Jewish Erma Bombeck, may she rest in peace.