Alison Fortier's ties to Boston are long and closely held. Her mother was born in Boston, the first American-born child of Irish immigrants. She met her husband in Boston while he was a graduate student at Harvard. They were married in her parents' living room and lived nearby for many years, and their son, the author's brother, was born in Boston. He was a lifelong Boston Braves fan no matter where he or they moved. The author's daughter went to Boston after college, fell in love with the city, and stayed. Five years ago, Alison came to live in New Hampshire to be near her. She makes frequent trips to Boston to visit her daughter and to enjoy the wonderful sites and history of the city and its surrounding areas.

One Boston experience will always stand out for her. It was the exhilaration of the moment when she and her son stood on Commonwealth Avenue to watch her daughter run the 2014 Boston Marathon.