As a young museum director one of my aspirations was membership in the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), which at the time mandated an annual operating budget of a specific size and two unsolicited recommendations from current members. I have benefited greatly from the immense wisdom and deep friendships my participation facilitated. After an AAMD meeting around the time of my divorce, I received in the mail Pema Chrödrön’s “When Things Fall Apart.” Sent by another female museum director, she shared that it had saved her during a similar time. That kindness sits large with me a decade later and I return to this profound book often as the knowledge that things fall apart, come back together, then fall apart again—repeatedly—is continuously true.
