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Dr. Ruth taught me everything I know — because she was my mom

JL;DR SUMMARY Joel Westheimer reflects on the life and legacy of his mother, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, renowned sex therapist and media personality, in an adapted eulogy marking her first yahrzeit. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

FamilyEducationKindertransportDr. Ruth WestheimerResilienceLossLegacyHumorCelebrityConnections

Places mentioned

Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
"Seven years ago, I was in the Frankfurt train station waiting for a train to Prague."
Prague, Prague, Hlavní mešto, Czechia
"Seven years ago, I was in the Frankfurt train station waiting for a train to Prague."
Switzerland
"and waved goodbye to her mother and grandmother, who ran next to the train as it left the station. She remembered smiling so that her mother would not be sad. She also remembered giving her favorite doll to the girl seated opposite her, who was crying. They were two of 100 children on the Kindertransport headed to relative safety in Switzerland."
New York, United States
"New York States honorary ambassador to loneliness."
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
"Joel Westheimer is a professor of democracy and education at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada."
France
"And she learned to speak the local language fluently anywhere she lived including France, Israel and, of course, the United States because that is what you need to meet and connect with people."
Israel
"And she learned to speak the local language fluently anywhere she lived including France, Israel and, of course, the United States because that is what you need to meet and connect with people."

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Cairo Item ID 55987
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-07-02 05:30:48 UTC
Curated 2025-07-02 08:32:06 UTC