Essayist, poet, writing teacher, and longtime Sun contributor Genie Zeiger died of cancer on December 24, 2009. She was sixty-six.

Genie lived in Shelburne, Massachusetts, where she’d moved from New York City in 1972. After working for many years as a psychotherapist and a crisis clinician at a mental-health center, she began a second career as a writer, fulfilling an ambition she’d had since the fifth grade. She went on to become the author of two memoirs, three books of poetry, and a manual on writing, and her work appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Massachusetts Review, the Georgia Review, Tikkun, and of course The Sun. She also taught workshops that helped other writers both hone their craft and engage in writing as an act of self-discovery. As a teacher at The Sun’s retreats, Genie created a sense of openness and safety in her workshops, and her willingness to be vulnerable helped others tell their most personal stories.