Short Hills Archives - StoryCorps

When His Mother Died Young, He Had a Friend To Lean On

Grant Brenner and Ari Gildengers met in elementary school in the 1970s in New Jersey. They had a lot in common, except that Grant lost his mother to cancer when he was very young. They came to StoryCorps to reflect on that time, and the role Ari’s mom played in Grant’s life.

A black and white photo of a young white boy with thick hair, wearing a turtle neck, whose hand rests on the shoulder of his mother, a white woman with thick short hair, wearing a cardigan and a neck scarf.
Grant Brenner and his mother, Judith Horowitz, at a professional photo studio in Livingston, New Jersey circa 1978. Courtesy of Grant Brenner.

Top photo:Grant Brenner and Ari Gildengers at their StoryCorps recording in Brooklyn on March 7, 2025. By Chapin Montague for StoryCorps.

This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Originally aired October 10, 2025 on NPR’s Morning Edition.