Michael Holtz

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  • Friends Hope Love

    On helping walk a brother home

    Michael and Kelli Simon have started every day of the last few weeks with the same question: Is this the day? Michael and Kelli have…

    November 3, 2023
  • Friends Surviving

    May we all tell interesting stories

    “Most men, they’ll tell you a story straight through. It won’t be complicated, but it won’t be interesting either.” That quote from Big Fish, my…

    October 22, 2023
  • Hope Love Uncategorized

    My own private Decoration Day

    Ernest Hemingway, one of my favorite writers, is credited with saying, “Every man has two deaths, when he buried in the ground and the last…

    October 16, 2023
  • Friends Hope

    Sacred ground doesn’t have to be a physical place

    Anytime I visit my mom, brothers, sister and their families in my hometown — Racine, Wisconsin — I always, always make a pilgrimage to the…

    October 4, 2023
  • Life After Cancer Love

    The thing about staring death in the face

    When I heard the words “you have cancer,” I quickly came to understand the limits of my mortality. I actually have an expiration date. Time…

    September 16, 2023
  • Friends Hope Love

    In the company of men with cancer

    In my cancer advocacy life I’ve had opportunities to do some pretty amazing things. Shared my story at the first-ever Cologuard national sales meeting. Spoken…

    September 8, 2023
  • Friends Love

    Sometimes all we have is lunch

    I hadn’t seen my friend Rick Day in about 10 years. It was, I think, the summer after I finished cancer treatment. We met at…

    August 31, 2023
  • Fighting Back Hope

    About the fire I carry

    I’ve written before of my abiding love for The Road, the late Cormac McCarthy’s spare novel about a man’s journey to get his young son…

    August 25, 2023
  • Gratitude

    Healing power of water and whales on memory

    Bodies of water, whether lakes, rivers, creeks, streams or oceans, never fail to draw my attention. The lovely Sarah and I were richly blessed to…

    August 14, 2023
  • Life After Cancer Positive Attitude

    When life gives you lemons steal some apples

    I stole a bunch of apples this weekend. Not literally. For the second post in a row, a lyric from my new favorite musical, Kimberly…

    July 3, 2023
Older Posts
Newer Posts

Latest Posts

  • The power of connection, even when it hurts

    September 12, 2024
  • In remembrance of my mother-in-law

    August 30, 2024
  • Following my heart means making a change

    July 30, 2024
  • On sacred ground and listening to the still small voice

    June 17, 2024
  • It always comes back to this: the human connection

    June 4, 2024

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