Scottsdale resident Deena Goldstein never set out to write a book about her late father, with whom she shared a treasured relationship. “We just had the most amazing connection,” she says. But, the day before her father died, Goldstein sat by his bedside and jotted down some thoughts about him on her phone. It wasn’t until later that she wrote a heartfelt father/daughter memoir titled, OK, Little Bird, which tells the universal story of losing a loved one.
The book’s title comes from an encounter she had with her terminally ill father while visiting his group home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nurse was able to transport her frail father to the patio door in a wheelchair to greet a masked Goldstein, who had brought his favorite milkshake. “I said Dad, I love you so much, I’m so excited to see you. I really missed you,” she says. “He nodded and about 30 seconds later he said, ‘OK, little bird,’ and that was it. He was saying goodbye.”
Throughout the book, Goldstein, a multi-media artist and former stand-up comedian, tells the story of her relationship with her father through candid anecdotes and recollections of the times they spent together. She uses humor liberally to confront her grief. “It leaves you with better memories,” she says. Her father had a gruff, stern exterior but Goldstein wasn’t intimidated, even as a little girl. “He was quirky, hilarious and unfiltered.”
She also describes many poignant moments. Her father was an avid horseman and when he became too sick to ride, Goldstein brought a miniature horse to her home patio so that her father could have an equine encounter. “It was so touching because for two hours he was dad. He was not dying dad or sick dad. He was dad back when he was feeling his best.”
Goldstein, the youngest of three, wants people who read the book to laugh and be inspired by her special father/daughter relationship. “I think it’s important to embrace your relationships and don’t let anything go unsaid,” she says. “Even in the darkest times there’s joy to be found and it’s OK to have some levity.”
For more information about OK, Little Bird, visit oklittlebird.com.
