Small Acts of Heroism

The Italian Navy and non-government ships rescued thousands of migrants, most from Eritera, on Monday. Canadians have opened their doors and their hearts to Canadian migrants. My husband, a doctor, treats his patients with loving kindness, whether they have money-or not. A woman fell at a local pool I go to,and so many came to her aide. Every day there are large (and small) acts of heroism, where people extend open arms, open hearts. My writing is about all those acts of heroism, in the hopes that my words, in some way, will also present themselves as acts of kindness. WHY NO BHINE, my next YA novel, is about exactly that-saving a young boy, or rather-how he saves himself with the help of a larger world.

Happy birthday, Amanda

In case you did not know, my terrific social media person, the woman who helps me with my blogs, tweets and goodread account, is Amanda Reiser, and today is her birthday. I want to give a shout out to one terrific woman. I am so grateful my son married her, and feel fortunate that she is my daughter-in-law. Amanda is truly special. She is modest to a fault, humble, extraordinarily decent and filled with integrity-from head to toe. She is a hard worker, has a wonderful, contagious laugh and is exemplary in everything she does-the work for me and her job as a teacher. She is also, by the way, Ella's mother, a job she has done with enormous aplomb. Her patience,kindness, nurturance are evident in the way Ella spreads sunshine everywhere she goes. We are all blessed to have Amanda in our life. Have a wonderful birthday!!!!

The Misadventures of Michael McMichaels Vol 2: The Borrowed Bracelet by Tony Penn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My former graduate student, Anthony Della Penna, part of the faculty in The Foreign Language Department at La Guardia High School, is also a celebrated author of the delightful, frivolous reader for youngsters, The Misadventures of Michael McMichaels. His pen name is Tony Penn (how great is that?). This particular volume had me laughing out loud, since Michael is yet again up to no good, but he is such an innocent, good boy at heart, that he is still utterly and totally lovable, despite his mischief. In this second volume, in true Dennis the Menace fashion, Michael is yet again in trouble with the most stupendous show and tell ever, filled with white lies and other forms of trouble. This series, published by Boys Town Press for second and third graders, is certain to charm and delight not just the child, but the parents and educators who traipse along for the read, and more Michael misadventures.

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Jazz Moon by Joe Okonkwo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just finished reading JAZZ MOON by Joe Okonkwo, a student who was in my graduate Children's Writing and Literature class last year, and I was totally blown away-far over the moon. This captivating first novel explores the artistic, sexual and cultural awakening of a young poet, Ben Charles, who moves to the rhythm of jazz, first in Harlem, and finally in Paris, France. In the liberated Parisian society, Ben, alienated and alone, discovers who he is amidst the city's underground scene, where jazz and blues sing their terrifically evocative and sometimes sad song. From the trendy cafes to the seedy opium dens-and all the liquor and smoke in between, Ben has to learn the difference between forbidden lust and love. The diction is versatile, romantic, loving and passionate, and will inspire any lover of the music of language. A must read!

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LaDivine by Marie NDiaye

Just completed reading LaDivine by Marie NDiaye, a book translated from the French. In beautiful, sparing diction, NDiaye manages to capture the discomfort between classes, and the painful process of growing up under the auspices of a social class with which you feel uncomfortable. What happens, though, when a child separates from her mother, "the servant" and selects to reinvent herself? The bottom line is there is no turning away from the self, as the protagonist discovers, and plagued with guilt and shame her whole life, the past continues to haunt not just her, but also her daughter. There is a saying, "run, but you can't hide" and this is evident in the novel. The detached voice is extraordinarily haunting, almost chilling, and the language is beautiful, passionate, unsettling. Also evident is the disparity between the internal workings of men and women. A real tour-de-force of a novel!

Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Years ago I read a collection of short stories by Adam Haslett, and was extraordinarily impressed, so it came as no surprise when I picked up his latest novel, IMAGINE ME GONE. The focus on the book is mental illness, a subject I have written about and continue to write about, since I grew up with a mentally ill mother. Family dynamics-the love and also contempt one feels for the challenged parent/sibling/family member is often a reality. How do you continue to love the person who inhabits a space you do not understand? What happens within a family when that mentally ill "other" takes up so much space, that there is no room for others to speak out and thrive? And there is always the claim on love and loyalty; how far do we go for those people who are our family but in title alone, since perhaps we do not love them sufficiently-if at all. Haslett creates a beautiful and tragic novel that made me laugh and cry, both, and which also felt so terribly familiar because of the home I grew up in. I feel haunted by it, still, and I read it in June. Interestingly, my husband just completed it, and though he appreciated it a great deal, he did not have the same grief-struck reaction I did, so I wonder if growing up beneath dark shadows makes me-as a reader-respond more quickly to a novel which understands these shadows. And by the way, the diction is superb!

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Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jacqueline Woodson continues to be a force to be reckoned with, and in her new book for adults, she proves yet again how versatile and talented she is. ANOTHER BROOKLYN (Harper Collins) is certainly another Brooklyn from the one we know in 2016; it is a world where dangers swim beneath the surface, causing the innocence of young girls to quickly become experienced. And who is there to protect the children as they grow up in this world? Absolutely no one, since mothers disappear and fathers escape into religion, often leaving the children to fend for themselves. Written with lush and lyrical language, the book almost feels like a long poem, a dreamscape, which made me feel heartbroken and impassioned, every step of the way. And always present is the power and poignancy of friendship. This is a must read!

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Tenement Museum Visit

My visit to the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street brought back the fondest memories of my grandfather, Solomon the Wise. When he and Masha (Mary) first came to this country, they settled into one of those cramped tenements on Orchard Street. From there, he was off to Cooper Union, where he eventually learned to be a pharmacist. When I was a little girl, I loved to visit his pharmacy, where I learned to love language and books.  I also came to appreciate the world of ideas, since my grandfather was a Zionist and a Socialist. Today at the museum I learned The US closed the doors to Italian and Jewish immigrants in the early part of the 20th century. I can not imagine a world without my grandfather and his peers-a world where humanity, compassion, decency and intellect reign supreme. He would have been so saddened by the state of negative rhetoric; he was such a soft-spoken and kind, compassionate man. So was my father Carl, his son, and though I have never been soft-spoken, ever, I can appreciate the great world they have given me. And so I can only offer my prayers to the heavens, where Solomon, Carl, Mary, Lillian, Herb and Sidney now rest: may goodness reign supreme. "Open the doors to all. Let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together, and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct and intellect,"  said Townsend Harris. Let new immigrants spread their wealth in the world.  Let us always be humane like Carl and Solomon were.  And may the world pray with me!

E Pluribus Unum

E Pluribus Unum: Remember what the Wizard said in the Wizard of Oz? Yes, he spoke Latin and yes, he was talking about the founding principles of our great nation: Out of many, ONE. We are not talking about the 13 colonies now, but instead about the many races, peoples and religions, languages and ancestries that make up our one great nation. Today this became so evident to me when I visited The Tenement Museum in NYC, that we are the sum total of so many smaller parts, and each part has had a significant impact on our great American culture. We are a nation of immigrants, and must continue to be so, so the spirit of the Founding Fathers can resonate in decades and centuries to come. The wizard was a smart man when he echoed these words.

Underground Railroad

I have always been fascinated by those who have risked their lives for someone as the people who ran the Underground Railroad did. Harriet Tubman comes to mind, a woman who repeatedly jeopardized her life, with the work she did for the Underground Railroad. This week's NEW YORKER discusses the challenges of this operation and the risks involved. The opening of the review by Kathryn Schulz tells us that, "The crate arrived, via overland express, one spring evening in 1849. Three feet long, two feet wide and two and a half feet deep, it had been packed the previous morning in Richmond, Virginia, then carried by horse cart tot he local office of the Adams Express Company. From there, it was taken to the railroad depot, loaded onto a train, and, on reaching the Potomac, transferred to a steamer where, despite its label-THIS SIDE UP WITH CARE-it was placed upside down until a third passenger tipped it over and used it as a seat. After arriving in the nation's capital, it was loaded onto a wagon, dumped out at a train station, loaded onto a luggage car, sent on to Philadelphia, unloaded onto another wagon, and finally delivered to 31 North Fifth Street. The person to whom the box had been delivered, James Miller McKim, was waiting to receive it. When he opened it, out scrambled a man named Henry Brown, five feet eight inches tall, two hundred pounds, and as far as anyone knows, the first person in the United States history to liberate himself from slavery."

Hard to imagine-isn't it? Such courage and such drama and such sacrifice. And, of course, the fortitude that goes with all of that. Above all else, the fact that he arrived alive.

Pay it Forward

The other day, a girl at the gym asked me if I would read her children's story, knowing I am an author. At first I thought, no way; I am so busy, particularly because I go back to teaching next week. But then I remembered how I live my life: pay it forward. Does this mean I give to receive? Absolutely not. This girl can do nothing for me, really, but I reap the benefits of knowing I have helped someone, and that is sufficient. I would also like to believe that by living my life this way, good things will come my way, since clearly I have become a magnet for aspiring writers. The reward may not come in the here and now, but perhaps one day someone will be extra good, for example, to my granddaughter, and I would like to believe on some level it was because her grandmother has always been a generous pay-it-forward person. Try it; it just might work for you!

What is the Next Step?

Sunday's NYT magazine section was dedicated to the Arab world, torn for more than a decade by war, terror and revolution. There is a reason I wrote WHY NO BHINE, the story of one immigrant left behind by his family because of the awful plight of politics and terrible injustices in certain parts of the world. Reading this magazine cover to cover convinced me of the necessity of telling more of these stories. Listening to the sagas and journeys of people whose lives are challenged has filled me with grief. The catastrophes since the invasion of Iraq 13 years ago has led to the rise of Isis and the global refugee crisis. There are way too many decent men and women who want to get educated, who want to lead decent lives, but the geography of the region and its politics has presented individuals with nothing but challenges in Egypt,Syria, Libya, Iraq and Kurdistan. Reading these individual narratives is heart-breaking.

And the big question remains, like the story in my book: what is the next step? Where can these people go to achieve peace, sanity, solace?

Oslo

This past Sunday, I went to see Oslo, a play about the peace accords, at the Lincoln Center theater. For three hours I was absolutely riveted watching as the Oslo peace process unfolded. I knew some, but not all of the history, and the amazing efforts on behalf of the Norwegians to broker a peace accord in the Middle East between 1992 and 1993. What I did not know (though it came as no surprise) is the arduous process to teach a compromise between Israel and the Palestinians-how many people it took, how much dissent. The joy of the play was seeing how strong and emphatic each side of the political divide was, yet how much they were able to bond over FOOD and DRINK-the universal language. At the end of the day, Uri Savir, the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry, and Hassan Asfour, the official liaison with the Palestinian Delegation at multilateral US-sponsored talks, became the pivotal players who made these accords happen. During one poignant moment, both men discover they have daughters and end up embracing in their love for their daughters back home, and also because both men want the bloodshed, the challenges to cease. After much haggling back and forth, this accord is eventually signed, when Simon Peres negotiates with Arafat and his extended clan over the phone. For one miraculous moment in time, peace was reached, but it has been tenuous and fragile every since. That is the despair of the situation. The beautiful moment? Asfour and Savir, a Palestinian and an Israeli, have been friends ever since this historic time in 1993.

The Spirit of Ronit and Jamil

The other week I wrote about the Visions for Peace Initiative at Tufts. There are other grass-roots movements in Israel and The West Bank, lead by Israelis and Palestinians-including members of bereaved families who lost loved ones and ex-combatants who together advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflicts. Some of these include Seeds for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace, to name a few. In the spirit of my book, RONIT AND JAMIL, I would like to see more organizations like these, which advocate cooperation and fewer movements like B.D.S., which divests and puts sanctions on everything Israeli. Why make it seem as if the whole country is responsible for the problems in the Middle East, in particular, with Palestine, when there are many more people who would like to discover a peaceful resolution? It is often the leaders who are the problem, not the people in the country, and yes, it is the leaders who must be made more aware of the terrible injustices their visions have created.

Long live the spirit of RONIT AND JAMIL; peace is what we are after. 

Independent Presses

Independent presses rock! Went to a reading in June because my friend Hasanthika Sirisena was reading. Her book won the Juniper prize from the University of Massachusetts Press. The OTHER ONE, a collection of short stories, blew me over the top, and took me on a journey to another world: Sri Lanka, and the brutality of the decades-long civil war. Its diction and attention to detail is overwhelming. 

I purchased a book written by the other reader at this event, Leland Cheuk, THE MISADVENTURES OF SULLIVER PONG published by the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography. The passages he read had me laughing out loud, so I was excited to read this book. The verdict is in. Not only is it filled with biting humor, but also incredible poignancy as it confronts the difficulties of an American immigrant family. I found myself alternating between laughter and tears. I cannot recommend both books enough; my words would not do justice to the incredible experience of the narratives.

Middle East Conflicts on Campus

How do you handle the Middle East conflict on campus? How do you handle the Middle East conflict, period?  This is an issue central to RONIT AND JAMIL. At Tufts University, this is being handled differently, particularly because the environment between Israel and Palestine is increasingly more hostile. Some students say they are ostracized when they show support for Israel, while Palestinian activists talk of being labeled "terrorists" and are accused of being anti-Semitic and anti-American. Now leaders from Hillel and Muslim Students Association teamed to organize a dialogue, which resulted, in April, attending each other's religious services and a talk by a Palestinian activist and a Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank. They are also organizing a Jewish-Muslim women's retreat.

This joint effort speaks the mission of my book: there must be peace, somehow, someway!

Breaking Down or Climbing Walls

On Sunday August 7th the NYT took out a full page ad extolling the virtues of City College, and on this page was a picture of Michelle Obama and the salutatorian of City College, Orubba Almansoouri. After this young woman spoke, she was invited to a Woman's Summit at the White House. I wrote about her in a previous blog entry; she is a model for women around the world since, as she herself said, she was not supposed to be here. From a small village in Yemen, her father's dream for her was a marriage at age fourteen, but Orubba did not see herself getting"a doctorate in a kitchen." She dreamed outside the box of her culture to demand a college education, and now she is Masters and PhD bound. She said, "What I was used to seeing as endless walls just became obstacles that I had to learn to break down or climb." She did both, and in doing so inspired many of the girls within her family to pursue higher learning and discover dreams for themselves.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi follows an extended family over the span of three hundred years in Ghana and America. The journey begins in two different villages in the 18th C in Ghana. One half-sister, Esi, is imprisoned in a castle dungeon, sold into slavery, shipped off to America, and it is here her family saga begins: from the plantations in the South to the Civil War to the Great Migration to the dope houses and jazz clubs in Harlem to the present day. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the Cape Coast Castle in her native Ghana, where centuries of warfare between the Fante and Asante nations challenge its very foundation, and also where the challenges of British colonization and the slave trade emerge. This is perhaps the best novel about slavery, racism, identity, culture and warfare I have read in a very long time. The family saga is amazing as you watch each generation emerge with its own set of struggles against the backdrop of various historical moments. The writing is crisp and clean and beautiful. The narrative made me rage and weep concurrently.


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Gender

Gender issues--disparity of pay and other problems which set off the balance of equality--continue to plague our nation. In this week's GLAMOUR magazine, President Obama wrote an article about this. He quotes: "We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding tears.We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality and rewards men for theirs." He wrote this piece as an homage to his daughters--two bright, beautiful young women, both of whom have benefited from having Barack and Michelle as parents.

As a mother with a  daughter, granddaughter and daughter-in-law, I revel in the power of a woman who is competent, strong, passionate and never demure. I hope Ella will one day be that young woman, too, who observes such wonderful and powerful role models. And as a writer, I write the type of women I admire, and the president's message to his daughters and society is the message every young girl needs to grow up with! When I was younger, GLAMOUR magazine was all about make-up, clothes--how to make yourself more physically appealing. Now the emphasis, fortunately, is how SMART women are!

WHY NO BHINE

My second YA novel, WHY NO BHINE, focuses on human rights in Myanmar. Months after completing the book, nothing has changed. Fortify Rights is still asking for the immediate release of Khaing Myo Htun, an ethnic-Rakhine human rights defender. Arrested on July 25th, 2012, Khaing Myo Htun "was exercising his right to freedom of expression by speaking on behalf of the ALP about alleged abuses committed by the Myanmar Army against civilians in Rakhine State." For more informtaion on this very important topic, please read the press release by Fortify Rights at 

http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=f15b18127e37f74088063b773&id=330f1c25a6&e=4785caa10b

WHY NO BHINE

My second YA novel, WHY NO BHINE, focuses on human rights in Myanmar. Months after completing the book, nothing has changed. Fortify Rights is still asking for the immediate release of Khaing Myo Htun, an ethnic-Rakhine human rights defender. Arrested on July 25th, 2012, Khaing Myo Htun "was exercising his right to freedom of expression by speaking on behalf of the ALP about alleged abuses committed by the Myanmar Army against civilians in Rakhine State." For more informtaion on this very important topic, please read the press release by Fortify Rights at 

http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=f15b18127e37f74088063b773&id=330f1c25a6&e=4785caa10b

Thin is Not In

In today's NYT, in the Science Section, a mother of twelve year old twin girls comments how everyone is admiring how thin she has become without realizing, this is not a sign of beauty, but a sign of grief. One of her twin daughters is recovering from childhood leukemia, and as her daughter's weight has plummeted downward, so has her mother's. THIN IS NOT IN, says this mom; very thin is often a sign of sickness and despair, but the message that is translated to young girls is it is okay to look like this, perhaps even positive. This made me think of a beloved YA book, Laure Halse' Anderson's WINTERGIRLS. The protagonist's thinness is a terrible disorder, anorexia, and what a message for Devon (the daughter) to hear how good her Mom looks thin, as if this is something to emulate. What a terrible message our culture is giving young girls and women, and Devon's mom wants to be asked about her grief, her feelings, not about her body. And she hopes when her daughter returns to school in the fall that her peers will not ask her about her thinness either, but instead ask how is she feeling.

Immigrants/Future Americans

I just received an article in my City College news feed from former General Colin Powell: "Immigrants/future Americans/make America better/every single day." It made me think about my second YA novel, WHY NO BHINE, about the plight of the Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar. It also made me think about my grandparents, who were immigrants. Such perfect timing since last week I saw the beloved classic, "Fiddler on the Roof." As Powell says, "Immigration is a vital part of our national being because people come here not just to build a better life for themselves and their children, but to become American citizens. And with access to education and a clear path to citizenship, they routinely become some of the best, the most patriotic Americans you'll ever know." 

Many of us are children of immigrants and know that the journey for our grandparents was very hard. Things have not changed very much, though our country and countries around the world are suggesting a closed door policy. If the door had been closed, I would not be here today, since my grandpa would have suffered or perhaps died in the awful programs in his native Russia. And so I continue to write about the need for serious immigration laws that support the terrible injustices for people around the world, many of whom MUST escape their country of origin in order to survive.

Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes: The Fear of Feeling Real by Richard A Chefetz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just finished reading INTENSIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR PERSISTENT DISSOCIATIVE PROCESSES by Richard A. Chefetz. This is normally not a book I would read, but actually I needed to read it for my next young adult book project, which is about an adolescent girl with split/dissociate personality. This book is fascinating, since it is not just filled with facts and science, but it is extraordinarily anecdotal, so I really got to see her and meet the two (or more) sides of the same person. I also was able-through the power of very fine writing-to experience the pain for the patient and the challenge for the therapist to break through the barriers the individual has created to keep him or her safe. A must read if you want to learn about this disorder. This will truly help me write my next young adult novel.

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