Every Family's Got One

About Every Family's Got One

Barbara Herel is the founder and producer of Every Family's Got One. She is a writer and storyteller, wife and mother, and a recovering middle child. (You bet she has some stories to tell.) You can find her work in places like, Scary Mommy, Motherly, Adoptive Families, on page 135 in the anthology Tick Tock: Essays on Becoming a Parent After 40 (published by Dottir Press), and right here on Every Family’s Got One.

A Story About Food Shopping

By Every Family's Got One Founder -- Barbara Herel We called it Food Shopping. Not “shopping for groceries” or “going to the grocery store.” It was Food Shopping. And it wasn’t for the faint of heart. My dad, my two brothers and I went Food Shopping every two weeks. My mom worked evenings at EAB (European American Bank, now Citibank) and was lucky enough to miss out on the happening. She and Dad passed the parenting baton precisely at 4:30 PM – when he walked through the door after work and she walked out. [Once when Dad was late, Mom [...]

2019-11-18T12:25:10-05:00June 20, 2018|3 Comments

OPEN CALL AUDITIONS! For the staged-reading performance of EVERY FAMILY’S GOT ONE

From Every Family's Got One Founder - Barbara Herel  OPEN CALL FOR AUDITIONS BEGINS TODAY AND ENDS ON SUNDAY, JULY 15.    Every Family's Got One storytelling show is on:  THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11 AT 7 PM. AT THE CINEMA ARTS THEATER IN HUNTINGTON, NY We’re looking for your go-to story about growing up in your family, or raising a family, or deciding not to have a family, or having problems starting a family, or your work family, or … you get the idea. A story that's hilarious, or tragic, or surprising, or awe-inspiring. Yes, THAT family story. HERE’S HOW [...]

2019-11-18T12:33:32-05:00June 13, 2018|8 Comments

A Story About Joy, Singing and Self

By Every Family's Got One Guest Writer -- Ann Imig I never learned to play an instrument. My parents bought me lessons in both piano and violin, and I had no lasting interest nor talent for either. Instead, singing became my instrument of choice; I sung constantly, I sang passionately, I sang well. That said... no matter how deftly 8-year-old me belted the full score of Annie while gazing out the backseat window, there were only so many “Tomorrows” my family could abide on a given day. My Facts of Life TV theme refrain did not provide an ersatz “hi [...]

2018-06-07T09:12:36-04:00June 6, 2018|2 Comments

A Story About Sock Puppets and Priorities

By Every Family's Got One Guest Writer -- Sheila Quirke It happened this morning. I was at the sink doing dishes, my older son was being too attentive to one screen or another and my younger son was whining at me, asking for help making puppets.  He wanted to make puppets. Now.  He needed help, of course, but couldn't he see me busy at the sink doing last night's dinner pans? Nope. Puppets. Now. Right now. I encouraged him to ask his brother. He did. That didn't go too well, as that screen wasn't going to watch itself. The little one was back in the kitchen after a [...]

2018-06-01T13:58:09-04:00May 30, 2018|1 Comment

About Grandpa and Building Sandcastles

By Every Family's Got One Guest Writer -- Jen Gregory We took the kids to the beach near Grandpa and Grandma’s condo. We parked the car in their building’s garage and embarked on the familiar one-block walk to the boardwalk that we’d done since Dylan was a baby. Mike dove straight into the ocean for a quick swim. Then, he and the boys got to work... building a massive sandcastle. First, there was moat digging. Then, there was barrier wall construction. Next, there was tower formation. The waves were high and rough, so the barrier wall had to be [...]

2018-05-30T09:44:34-04:00May 23, 2018|3 Comments

About Serving in the Military

By Every Family's Got One Guest Writer -- Maria Adcock My great-grandfather, Ying Hsing Wen, was the first Chinese cadet at West Point Military Academy and graduated with the Class of 1909. In honor of him... my relatives have set up awards for students in the Foreign Languages Department at West Point. Every year, the elder relatives present the awards at graduation. The first is an award given to a cadet selected by the faculty for demonstrating excellence in the field of East Asian Studies.  The second is a China traveling fellowship awarded to a graduating cadet based on [...]

2018-05-21T10:06:17-04:00May 16, 2018|2 Comments
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