Kayla Desroches
Hi, I'm Kayla, and I'm an artist and public radio reporter based in Billings, Montana.
On this page, you'll find some of the ink and watercolor paintings I created in the weeks following the loss of my mom to Parkinson's disease. Thank you for taking the time to visit and see them.
"... the best way out is always through." - Robert Frost, A Servant to Servants, 1915
“Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, spiritual and physical necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.” - Earl Grollman
“You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved.
But this is also the good news.
They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up.
And you come through.
It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.” -
Anne Lamott
“If there ever comes a day where we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.” - A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
Mildred Schwartz
April 1948 - January 2025
My mom grew up in New York City, the daughter of Margot Linz and Abraham Schwartz. Her father was a U.S. postal worker and her mother was a dentist. Margot Linz fled Nazi Germany and worked in the United States as a cleaning lady before becoming a dentist. She graduated first in her class.
My mom taught chemistry in the New York City public school system for most of her life. I remember her spending hours every night grading papers and following up with students to make sure they graduated.
She was curious, smart and a force to be reckoned with. She loved mystery books, the spiciest of schwaramas and art.
She encouraged me in everything I did and taught me an appreciation for art, books and adventure, which bring me joy and comfort to this day.
