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.
“Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and following the recent outbreaks of violence against Jews in France, the U.S., and elsewhere, I doubt very much that the lessons of the Holocaust have been learned and understood.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
A Jewish cemetery desecrated in 2020
Berlin, 1937. Jewish newlyweds flee Germany for Brooklyn on the eve of the Nazi slaughter
My Goodreads and Amazon review of Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo (Rating 3) – For Insiders Only.Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo is the story of four Dominican sisters and two of their daughters. Men are tangential and, with one or two exceptions, not worth the trouble they cause. The six women propel the narrative, from their public gifts to their private parts. They make inspired pronouncements and unabashedly pleasure themselves. One sister foresees death in her dreams, another’s inner radar detects dishonesty, a third makes healing concoctions, and the fourth, lacking magical powers, channels the world’s pulse through dancing. The plot is driven by the second oldest sister’s decision to have a living wake. While she’s in good health; she’s determined to celebrate her life with her loved ones before she dies. The book’s chronology charts each woman’s actions and feelings before, during, and after this event. Their relationships to one another and to their heritage form the book’s substance. This is rich territory, yet I never fully immersed myself in the landscape. I repeatedly had to remind myself who was who. While the women’s individual stories are engaging, Acevedo fails to weave the intricate web of their “family” connections. Nor does Acevedo convey the “lore” of Dominican culture. She uses Spanish words without enough context for non-speakers to understand their meaning. As writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I take pains to avoid distancing readers from my characters in this way. I came to Family Lore eager to be welcomed into an intriguing family and be introduced to an underrepresented culture. Instead I often felt excluded from a narrative that was “for insiders only.” If I were invited to the wake, I would have nothing to say.
Women drive the narrative in this Dominican family
Why writers read: “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.” – Emily Dickinson
My latest microfiction, “Uncle Joe,” appears in the January 10, 2024 issue of Fifty Word Stories, my first publication in this daily online journal. While readers will likely appreciate the punch line, the challenge for me as a writer was detailing what Uncle Joe hoped to impart to his nephew and niece. Read more about my SHORT STORIES from micro to flash to full-length.
Why writers write: “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach
Boston Unitarian Minister Waitstill Sharp and his wife Martha, a social worker, joined with the World YMCA to provide humanitarian assistance, rescue intellectuals, organize child transports, and help hundreds of Jews and other refugees escape Czechoslovakia, France, and Portugal throughout the Second World War. While the U.S. failed to end WW2 sooner or admit those fleeing Nazi persecution, history shows some courageous Americans spoke out and saved lives. Read about a German Jewish family who tries to escape to the U.S. in the novel One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Waitstill & Martha Sharp rescued hundreds of Czech, French, & Portuguese refugees in WWII
Berlin, 1937. Jewish newlyweds flee Germany for Brooklyn before the Nazi slaughter begins
I don’t consider myself a “Jewish writer” or the author of “Jewish literature.” Most of the protagonists in my novels and stories are not Jewish; those who are, are not necessarily concerned with matters of religious faith, observance, or identity. However, I resonate with this statement by Dara Horn (scholar, novelist, and essayist author of People Love Dead Jews), who says, “My understanding of Jewish literature — descriptive, not prescriptive — is less about language and more about artistic humility. The best writers avoid giving their characters redemptive endings, or epiphanies, or moments of grace — things that our subtly Christian culture has taught us to expect from literature, and things that many of my favorite Hebrew and Yiddish writers clearly never even thought about. Instead, their stories rarely resolve because life rarely does. These authors are asking questions rather than providing answers” (Hadassah Magazine, November-December 2023). According to Horn’s definition, I am a Jewish writer. My stories have ambiguous endings. The characters may have hopes or hypotheses, but the narrative doesn’t provide a neat answer about what happens next in their lives. Nor are my badly behaving protagonists fully redeemed, although they may be working toward that end. Moses, the “hero” of the Torah, is praised for being a “humble” man. Likewise, honoring the story of our origins, Jewish writers are humble too. More in NOVELS and SHORT STORIES.
Why writers write: “I write to dispel the myths that I am a mad prophet or poor suffering soul.” – Gloria E. Anzaldúa
