Does this woman look like a criminal?
Sandi’s background check.
(We’ve already done the work for you!)
My name is Sandi Amorello. I live in Maine. I moved here in 2005 with three children, two cats, one fish…and a dwarf hamster. My husband Drew died (very inconveniently and against my direct orders, I might add) on the 26th of December 2002. He was buried on New Year’s Eve. So, yes, that makes me a widow. Worse yet, a holiday widow.
Fortunately, I come from a long line of independent, resilient, extraordinarily stubborn (I mean, determined) women. I chose not to follow Emily Post’s etiquette advice. I did not wear black for six months. I did wear black lingerie to the funeral, though, if that redeems me. Actually, I don’t think I’ve followed anyone’s advice about anything since hopping onto the wild roller coaster of widowhood and single parenting. I am thinking, if I can navigate the loss of the man I loved with all of my heart and soul…I can handle anything the universe can throw at me.
I received my B.F.A. in illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Which is where I met a sweet, funny, handsome guy from a quaint town in New England, wearing a Stetson hat and cowboy boots. His name was Drew. Upon graduation, I dragged my portfolio all over NYC, in a half-hearted attempt to gain employment. Half-hearted because, alas, my heart was with Drew, in Massachusetts. After moving to Boston, I worked as a graphic designer at a PR agency, a job that so frustrated my creative passions that, after a mere 14 months, I set off to start my own business. I designed and created beautiful handmade cards and quickly branched out into custom invitations for very special private and corporate events. I loved working closely with clients to help define their visions and bring them to life…allowing their personality, style and true essence to shine through.
Meanwhile, I married Drew…gave birth to our three children…and, well, you already know that didn’t go quite as planned.
Fortunatlely, along with being an artist, I’m also an eternal optimist and nothing seems to stop me from inevitably rediscovering the things that have always brought me joy: Collecting sentimental vintage stuff. Making art. Telling stories. And making people smile.
Today, I live in a vintage house near the ocean with my three amazing, witty children. I have an assortment of traffic violations and wake up every day, happy to be alive…and still laughing.
Disclaimer: I have a B.F.A. Not a Ph.D., and do NOT claim to be a therapist of any sort. So don’t try to sue me. I do, however, have an overabundance of experience surrounding loss, unexpected change, widowhood, single parenting, mid-life dating….and recovering from life’s little surprises. By passionately sharing my own stories with honesty and humor, I hope to bring love, laughter, creativity and healing into other people’s lives. Something I consider more valuable than any degree any institution of higher learning could bestow upon me.
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