Legacy
“She tried as hard as she could to be helpful.” - from a questionnaire by Blue Cliff Editions Inc. “Twenty Questions,” 1985.
Dr. Brothers lived an extraordinary life, with a professional career spanning over five decades. Her impact on the field of media psychology and therapy is profound. The move towards cultural acceptance of therapy is in part due to her continual push for awareness and the presence of advice and psychology in media. What began as a late-night television show offering relationship advice has grown into a country-wide movement to bring therapy into the 21st century living room.
Margalit Fox. “Dr. Joyce Brothers, Psychologist Who Made House Calls Via TV, Dies at 85.” New York Times, May 14, 2013.
Dr. Brothers passed away on May 13, 2013, at the age of 85, from Lewy body dementia. Obituaries were published around the world, including in the New York Times.
Women's Rights
Dr. Brothers advocated for women’s rights throughout her career, including equal representation, better options for childcare to allow women to work, and equal pay. Her passionate opinions on these matters can be seen clearly in her work as a delegate for the 1972 Inter-American Commission of Women.
Brothers at the XVI Assembly of the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972.
Times Union article, "Women Lose Abortion Bid in GOP Platform,” August 18, 1972.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Draft, with edits, of Brothers' testimony before the platform committee as a delegate for the Inter-American Commission of Women, August 17, 1972. Based on the notes on this draft, Dr. Brothers had sent it to her mother for proofreading.
Family
Possibly Dr. Brothers' greatest accomplishment and legacy is her family.
Milton J. Brothers, MD
A first generation American, and first in his family to attend college, Milton served in the Navy and attended Cornell on the GI bill. He met Joyce while working at a summer resort frequented by her family. They dated at Cornell and married in 1949. Milton went to medical school at SUNY Downstate. An internist specializing in diabetes, he was co-chief of the diabetes clinic at Mount Sinai Medical Center and associate clinical professor at the Center's medical school. He was also chief of the diabetes unit at the Bronx VA and enjoyed his Park Avenue private practice. He died from bladder cancer in 1989 after 39 years of marriage. Joyce never remarried. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend.
Lisa Brothers Arbisser, MD, née Lisa Robin Brothers, is Milton and Joyce’s only child. She grew up overlooking the East River in NYC and graduated from Hunter College High School. She graduated with honors from Princeton University and received her MD with honors at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where she completed an NIH neurobiology/retina research fellowship. After her ophthalmology residency and associate fellowship at the University of Iowa, Dr. Lisa co-founded Eye Surgeons Associates, PC, an integrated Iowa and Illinois private practice. Lisa is a widely recognized leader in cataract and anterior segment surgery. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah Moran Eye Center, and publishes scientific articles and textbook chapters and lectures worldwide. She is a former president of the American College of Eye Surgeons and was voted among the top 50 opinion leaders in ophthalmology. Dr. Lisa helped develop and train staff for a charitable eye care system in India. She was honored to be designated a lifetime member of the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame. Lisa is a third-generation professional woman, mother of four, and grandmother of five. She and her husband of 47 years, Amir Arbisser, MD, constructed the first LEED Platinum residence on Florida’s west coast 15 years ago. They co-founded Minute Suites, which rents private rooms inside security at many hub airports in the United States.
Micah Arbisser
Joyce and Milton’s first and only grandson was raised in Iowa, and followed in his great-grandfather’s footsteps to Columbia Law School, after Princeton University and a Johns Hopkins certificate program in Nanjing, China. He was a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in NYC before joining the real estate group at Debevoise & Plimpton. Married to Cantor Lisa Shapanka Arbisser, he is the proud father of two boys and a girl.
Talya Arbisser
Joyce and Milton’s first granddaughter was raised in Iowa, and followed in the footsteps of her grandparents, graduating from Cornell University in 2006. After Cornell, she attended the International Center of Photography in New York City. As a documentary photographer she focuses on people and health stories, including a long-term project destigmatizing discussion of mental health issues. She also teaches beginning photography focused on dance to high schoolers. Talya and her husband Joel Gluskin live in Houston, Texas, with their two daughters.
Lily Arbisser Shorr
Joyce and Milton’s third grandchild was raised in Iowa, and received her Master of Music from the New School (Mannes College) following her Bachelor of the Arts at Princeton University. She performs art song, oratorio, and opera, and has a strong interest in ecological restoration, managing the Brothers family’s rural property. She is married to attorney Adam Bradford Shorr.
Ariel Arbisser
The youngest of Joyce and Milton’s grandchildren, raised in Iowa, also attended Cornell University. After a decade-long career in the professional a cappella world and years spent teaching the Meisner acting technique, she is now an independent recording artist and leads her own band in Ithaca. With over 2 million global streams, she is scheduled to release her second full-length solo album in early 2024. She continues to teach voice, acting, and performance privately.