Long before she became one of the world’s most respected family therapists, Dr. Pauline Boss was simply Pauline Grossenbacher—a girl from New Glarus who walked to a one-room schoolhouse each morning through the quiet hills of rural New Glarus.

Today, she’s known around the globe for pioneering the concept of ambiguous loss — a way to describe the type of loss that doesn’t have clear answers or closure. She’s Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, the author of several groundbreaking books, and one of the most influential voices in family psychology over the past 50 years. But at heart, she’s still proud of her New Glarus roots.