Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
Lorde and Parker were both Black lesbian poets, mothers, activists, and cancer patients. Beginning in the 1970s, they wrote each other regularly, grappling with the issues we confront fifty years later: social justice, women’s rights, and critical race theory. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Poets Lorde and Parker were decades ahead of their time
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
In the friendship between George and Lennie in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the former is the latter’s master and intellectual superior. Yet the imbalanced pair share mutual affection and responsibility, leaving an indelible impression on readers. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
An unequal but moving friendship between George and Lennie in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
The friendship began as confrontation when Murray, a Black woman, wrote a letter to the President and Mrs. Roosevelt protesting racial segregation in Southern schools. The First Lady wrote back, and the two women became personal friends and allies in the fight for racial justice. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Murray and Roosevelt joined forces in the fight for racial justice
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
My Goodreads and Amazon reviews of Disconnected: Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage by Eleanor Vincent (Rated 5) – Ticket for One.Disconnected: Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage, Eleanor Vincent’s memoir of her late-in-life marriage to an autistic spouse, is a roller coaster ride of emotions. From a fairytale beginning that literally and figuratively dances on the page, Vincent plummets back to earth when the relationship abruptly ends, soars when it’s reignited, and then settles into the hard work of navigating a trip for two when only one person holds a ticket. With honesty, she recounts her excitement and frustration, hope and anger, and eventual acceptance that the gaps in wiring between her neurotypical brain and his neurodivergent one cannot be bridged. Although she writes from her perspective, Vincent is as fair-minded and nonjudgmental as she can be toward her ex-spouse. As a fiction writer who aims to elicit empathy for even the most challenging characters (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Vincent’s ability to enhance the reader’s understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The final emotion as the roller coaster comes to a stop is regret for the inevitable. Her husband is who he was born to be as surely as she must be true to her own nature. And after she unstraps and exits the carnival car, hope returns that the next ticket Vincent buys will take her on a rewarding journey, whether or not she’s with a fellow traveler.
Differently wired brains cannot run on the same circuit
Why writers read: “Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own.” – John Waters
The musicians became friends at the high school where Frampton’s father was Bowie’s art teacher and Frampton sat in on Bowie’s jam sessions. When Bowie shot to fame in the late 80s, he recruited the guitarist to play on his Never Let Me Down album and Glass Spider tour. Frampton said Bowie’s faith in him “restored my credibility” as an artist. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Bowie bolstered Frampton’s credibility as an artist
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
In Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan Novels, Elena and Lila are frenemies. From childhood to adulthood, together or apart, they are each other’s best friends and worst critics. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Elena and Lila are lifelong frenemies in Ferrante’s four Neopolitan Novels
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
The two fantasy novelists were members of a literary critique group called The Inklings. Lewis, after seeing Tolkien’s sketches, encouraged him to write what became Lord of the Rings. Tolkien helped Lewis return to Christianity, which resulted in The Chronicles of Narnia. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Authors and friends, they encouraged each other to write their greatest works
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
Of the many friendships in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the one between Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee is iconic. With his loyal, kind, and brave friend Sam, Frodo faces challenges, overcomes setbacks, and accomplishes his mission. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Iconic friends Frodo and Sam together accomplish the great mission in Lord of the Rings
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
My Goodreads and Amazon review of Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (Rated 5) – Surreal Reality. With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, my memories of lock down and social isolation have blurred. Reading Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout brought the strangeness back with clarity. In sparse prose, Strout captures the discombobulating effect of not knowing when the weirdness will end. We’re thrown together with people we may not choose to be with, and separated from those we do. We’re stuck at home and dreaming of escape, or far from home and longing for its familiar comforts. Authors, myself included (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), are typically advised to wait before writing about current events, allowing temporal distancing to give us the wisdom of hindsight. Yet, there is also something gained by writing as events are unfolding. Given that Strout’s novel was published in 2022, she wrote it “in the moment.” And, given her literary gifts, she nails it. Lucy by the Sea blends visceral immersion with detached observation, replicating the surreal qualities of the pandemic itself. Perusing it now, readers cannot only recollect those days, but also prepare for the next pandemic that will assail us in the foreseeable future. I choose to be with Strout.
What we hold onto when everyday life is swept away
Why writers read: A book can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” – Madeleine L’Engle
50 Give or Take published another piece of my microfiction, titled “Exhuming Laughter.” The idea came to me during a discussion with my fellow end-of-life doulas about what happens to our “essence” after we die. Sign up to receive and submit your own ultra-short stories, free, at 50 Give or Take.
You never know what a writer’s creative mind will dig up
Why writers write: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
