On the day that she decided to marry a widower—also a long-time friend—Betsy Graziani Fasbinder knew that she wasn&’t only gaining a husband, she was inheriting a son. Unlike many stepmothers, Betsy didn&’t have to struggle with an ex, or court battles, or the weekend shuffle between houses—but she did have to navigate living in the shadow of a young mother taken too soon, to honor the memory of her son&’s first mother, and to become the kind of parent and partner she herself wanted to be. Over time this family would learn how love&’s roots were formed in their shared losses, and how the new family love and joy they created together would become the richest kind of inheritance.
