Don’t Say a Word! A Daughter’s Two Cents

Don’t Say a Word! A Daughter’s Two Cents by Elizabeth Marcus ’67 tells the story of the author’s impossible-to-please parents’ poignant, often hilarious plunge into old age in Mexico, where they throw caution aside—along with their daughter’s advice—and embark on a string of madcap disasters. Underneath the humor, says Marcus, is “a serious look at the consequences of being silenced by your parents and the challenge of understanding them as complex human beings.” (She Writes Press, 2021)

Elizabeth Marcus grew up in Manhattan. After escaping to Boston, she ran a small architectural office for 20 years, when she wasn’t traveling to far-flung places with her psychiatrist husband and rambunctious children. Eventually, she decided to concentrate on writing, which allows her to pursue the many, quirky questions that fascinate her. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and Boston Globe, on online sites like Cognoscenti, and in essay anthologies like Travelers’ Tales.