Archive - Danielle Dragona’s Substack

Beating the Odds

In November 2003, my father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. When it was revealed that it was stage four, that was a virtual death sentence...

Jul 7 •

Danielle Dragona

June 2025

A Life Reduced to a Candle Flame

In November 2024, eight months after my father died, the Catholic church in our town offered a memorial mass for the parishioners who had passed that…

Jun 11 •

Danielle Dragona

May 2025

I believe that gratitude is one of the paths to happiness. While I don’t suppose most people would dispute that perception, it appears to be easier for…

May 31 •

Danielle Dragona

I was nearly four years old the day my father didn’t come home. When I finally asked my mother where he was, I was told the truth. My parents divorced…

May 12 •

Danielle Dragona

April 2025

I didn’t want to drive to the hospital, but something deep inside commanded me to go. I was shattered from the anxiety of watching my father grow…

Apr 28 •

Danielle Dragona

Done Being Small

Growing up, I was an anxious and highly perceptive kid. Even though my family undoubtedly loved me, they didn’t realize what a sensitive child I was...

Apr 14 •

Danielle Dragona

March 2025

Beauty in Chaos

I was always a believer in the concept that if we search diligently, even in the darkness, we can discover the light...

Mar 31 •

Danielle Dragona

My First Valentine

My father was my first Valentine. He was my first everything. My first love, and along with my mother, my primary playmate, and my earliest friend...

Mar 19 •

Danielle Dragona

The Unexpected Visit

Christmas has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. There’s something so inexplicably enchanted about the hues of twinkling lights…

Mar 3 •

Danielle Dragona

December 2024

Your Birthday Without You

On September twenty-ninth, nineteen forty-seven, you were ushered into the world, thrust out onto the planet to embark on your expedition through…

Dec 4, 2024 •

Danielle Dragona

October 2024

Where Did You Go, Dad? September 19, 2024

You were the first man I ever loved. Although it was unbreakable, that love wasn’t always easy, even if it was between a father and his daughter.

Oct 28, 2024 •

Danielle Dragona

September 2024

The Void – March 5, 2024

On March 5, 2024, the bottom dropped out from my life as I free-fell into a shadowy abyss. I lost my rock, my best friend, and the first man I ever…

Sep 12, 2024 •

Danielle Dragona

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