Happy New Year
For most of my adult life I began the New Year with a string of resolutions--every year more or less the same--a long list of self-improvement intentions. But five years ago, I decided to leave that list in the past and concentrate on whatever I could do to make the world a better place to live in right now. I decided to pick three issues dear to my heart and do what I could make a difference. I wanted to:
· Support a woman's right to choose when and how to have a family
· Up my game on helping the planet deal with climate change.
· Help in whatever way I could with the immigration crisis
For the first two items I chose the easy way. I support them by donating money to as many organizations that are working on the issues as I can. But four years ago, my synagogue, the Jewish Community Center of Harrison (JCCH), began a Refugee Resettlement committee to help HIAS resettle immigrants clamoring to leave war-torn countries. I joined and co-chaired the committee, and together we helped to resettle an Afghan family in our community. After escaping Taliban persecution and violence for their work with the U.S. government in Kabul, that family is now thriving, fully self-supporting, and has even purchased their own home this past year. And they volunteer their time with organizations helping other Afghan refugees acclimate themselves to the United States.
But when they left Kabul four years ago, they left behind immediate family members who were in the process of applying for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs). They had still not received them at the time the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan this past August. Two families, one with five members and one with four, were left behind. They span three generations: grandparents, adult siblings, and nieces ages 6 and 1. Both family units were among the more fortunate and were flown out of Kabul to a refugee center in the United Arab Emirates. They have just completed their U.S. medical, documentation, and interview processes and received approval to come to the U.S (evidenced by their orange wristbands!) We expect them to arrive here by the end of January.
Their needs in the first few months will be great. Our committee, which I am again co-chairing, has reconstituted itself and is getting ready to find and furnish two apartments, and help the families with the myriad issues all immigrants face when integrating into a brand-new culture and community. It is heartwarming to be able to help again, even in this small way, to pave the way for immigrants coming to America to make a new life. It makes me think of the obstacles my grandparents and my in-laws faced when they immigrated at the beginning of the 20th Century, and I am so thankful to them for the life I have been able to live.
For those of you who feel as I do—grateful beyond words for my good fortune—and who would like to help support these families in however small a way, our committee has set up a Go Fund Me page. Any donation will truly make an impact. And if you feel you can help us, thanks in advance for your tax-deductible contribution. It means so much to them, and to us. Together, we can show the world that we stand with our allies and lovingly welcome the tired, poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
I am hoping that this year I will remember to cherish what I have and help at least one other person or family to get a step closer to achieving their dreams. Happy New Year.
IS IT NOVEMBER ALREADY?
I can hardly believe that “How to Make a Life” is one year and one month old. And here I am launching the audiobook of the novel. I had hoped I could make the announcement exactly one year after the book came out, but that was not to be. We were novices at this, and we wanted to make a really wonderful audio. And we did.
The “we” here is really my niece, Justine Reiss (shown in the photo above), the VoiceOver coach and actor, who has brought my novel to life before my very ears! Please, go to my book page on Amazon and click on the button under the book cover that says “Audible sample.” You will hear how Justine’s voices capture the spirit of the characters and their conversations. It is like listening to a radio play. Here is a small sample of the audio.
Right now the audio is available on Audible, from Amazon.com. In about two weeks it will be available on Findaway which distributes to about 12 other possible sights where it will be for sale, including Chirp! and Spotify. The book is now available in paperback, in ebook and on audio. And it will make a wonderful gift for family and friends for the holidays.
What Else is Happening in November
It’s NaNoWriMo!
What, you may ask, is NaNoWriMo? Why National Novel Writer’s Month. In 1999 a group of writers got together and declared November Novel Writing Month. They challenged themselves to write 50,000 words of their novel in the month of November. That’s 1,666 words a day, for 30 days. And at the end of the month you have a first draft of a novel. It is a daunting challenge, but each year more and more writers and would-be-writers sign up. There are close to 700,000 would be novelists writing their first drafts this year.
I am writing a first draft of a second novel, though I don’t think I will have it completed by the end of November. There are too many other things happening this month.
Like Thanksgiving
Happy Holiday Everyone!