Leslie and Eric Adler of Jericho were enjoying their lives as successful attorneys and the parents of two young children when Eric was diagnosed with testicular cancer three years ago.

As the Adlers began the arduous task of navigating the labyrinth of cancer treatments, Leslie turned to her group of friends, who call themselves The Vuv Club, for comfort and support. “[Eric’s cancer] was a unifying event,” Leslie remembers. “We all had cancer, we were all diagnosed. They checked in on us every single day.”

Leslie goes on to explain about the women in The Vuv Club: “We are all career women with a family. All of our stats are the same and we live in the same [kind of] relationships. Our children and our husbands are friends too.” The original club includes six women who have been friends for 10 years. “We went out one night and it was an ‘aha’ moment,” Leslie remembers, regarding how the friendships started.

As Eric began a rigorous cycle of chemotherapy, Leslie needed to find an outlet for her thoughts and realized that she had a big to-do list for herself. “I have a creative side and I did a lot of writing for fun. I think that humor is the greatest coping skill a human can have,” she says. “[When Eric got sick] I gave up my ‘nevers’ and I encourage other people to do that also. It’s very limiting.”

Leslie began writing a journal about her observations on the differences between women. A friend took some of her writing samples to Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., and Leslie was asked to start a blog as an affiliate on their new website, www.momlogic.com. “They said I had a unique voice,” Leslie says about her humorous look at life. “I wanted to celebrate that [women] understand each other, we are unique and crazy. We speak a ‘gender language’ and are part of this awesome and unique group that thinks and feels the way we do.”

Leslie, who is general counsel at Marcum & Kleigman, LLP in Melville, is also the presiding judge for the Friendship Corner on www.momlogic.com, where she combines her legal skills and friendship experience to help other women solve their problems. She is also writing a book called The Vuv Rules of Engagement on how to be friends in groups, debunking the myth that women can’t.

TheVuvClub.com went live in March 2008 and Leslie blogs three times a week on topics such as aging parents and frenemies and asks readers to reflect about themselves—for example, “Are you a cheerleader or a wet blanket?”

“I am amazed that the [blog] brought out so much [response] from women,” Leslie says. “I think women need validity.”

Eric is now cancer-free and Leslie says the family still abides by the Lance Armstrong motto “Live Strong.”

She has taken her gift of looking at the lighter side of life through her writing and has established a connection with thousands of women. “My hope for all women is that they have a place in what feels like a Vuv Club of their own,” she says. “Having this group of friends has allowed me to see the world through others lives. We inspire each other and I want to encourage people to have open dialogue with their friends. There’s comfort in finding a group that thinks and feels like you do.”

For more information email Leslie at thevuvclub@verizon.net. Leslie’s column can also be found on LongIslandPress.com and Kioli.org.
If you know a super woman who deserves good Fortune—and a profile—e-mail your nominations to Beverly at bfortune@longislandpress.com.