Aureet Bar-Yam was born on September 8, 1957. Aureet died on January 7, 1991 at the age of 33 after a tragic drowning accident as she tried to rescue her dog from the icy water of Sandy Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Officials were notified by passers-by, but there were numerous problems with the rescue operation.

Born in Boston, Aureet graduated summa cum laude from Boston University in 1980, received a master's degree in human development from Harvard University in 1983, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Boston University in 1988. She was evaluated by her professors as an outstanding student and a remarkably promising professional, and received many awards for academic excellence. As a therapist and a counselor, Aureet was a caring, responsive, resourceful professional who was admired by colleagues, clients and directors wherever she worked. Aureet made significant contributions to her profession both as a caring effective clinician and through published work on her theory of interpersonal development.

Aureet had amazingly diverse creative talents and she had a warm, vivacious, engaging personality. She deeply touched the lives of those who knew her. Aureet's friends, colleagues, and clients have formed, together with her family, a Memorial Committee to share and bring to others the creativity, insights, and vitality of her achievements.

Although not trained professionally, Aureet was a wonderful artist with a dynamic style and a lively sense of composition and color. Her paintings are filled with exciting, colorful and vibrant portrayals of her imagination and life. She expressed her feelings and ideas through these vivid colorful paintings and also through writing poems, stories and essays. Her poems and writings convey her deep insight and perspective on people and the world. She expressed her love of life, her appreciation of nature and the process of growth and change, her insightful self exploration, and her profound understanding of people.

She was enthusiastic about everything she did; thriving on the challenges of life. She excelled at skiing, swimming and dance; loved flowers, plants, children and animals. She enjoyed taking long walks in nature, traveling and exploring, and spending time with her family and friends.

This book is our effort to capture as much as possible the breadth and diversity of Aureet's pursuits and interests, and the many ways she inspired people. The Memorial Committee has undertaken various events and projects (see page 103) to enrich the lives of people through experiences related to her special gifts.

We present this book in dedication to her memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Introduction
• Timeline
• Birth Story
• Childhood Diary
• Photo Album

Death (1974)

"Live mindful of death;
the hour flies".

Comments written by Aureet: This means a lot for me. I believe you have one life to live and should enjoy it. This does not necessarily mean goofing off. It means doing the things you want to do and living remembering that you are going to die. It gives you much greater appreciation for life and your experiences. It makes you want to accomplish things and press for them since you only have a short time to do them in. It makes you happy to get what you get and happy that you have what you have.