Thanksgiving With the Isacs: Turning Grief Into a Celebration of Gratitude

After the sudden loss of a husband and father, a Connecticut family wrote a tribute in the form of an all-encompassing guide to their favorite holiday

A previous Thanksgiving dinner at the Isacs's, with Peter at the head of the table. Courtesy of the Isacs Family

For the past 19 years, the Isacs family has hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their home in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut. Each year, anywhere from 8 to 20 extended family and friends swelled the ranks of the family of four: Peter and Nadine, the consummate host and hostess, and their sons PK, 27, and Christopher, 25.

“It has always been our favorite holiday,” said Christopher, because “it’s really just focused on family, along with the concept of gratitude, which has always been very important to us.”