The Leopard Hat

Valerie Steiker's mother -- Gisele -- wasn't a typical American mom. She spoke with throaty Belgian Rs. She was a Jew who had somehow survived her World War II childhood in Antwerp. She had modeled in Mexico and the only shoes she ever wore were high heels. With her vitality and glittering elegance, she created a joyous childhood for Valerie. Together they tangoed through their vibrant apartment in New York, took in great art, and shared "women's hidden secrets." Gisele's premature death left Valerie (at the time a junior at Harvard) unmoored, but through mourning and remembering her mother, she grew to understand Gisele more profoundly than she ever had as a child.