Böcker av Andrea Simon

We call ourselves the Lady Bunch. One of our nine members named us after the iconic TV show The Brady Bunch, which introduces its cast members in a rectangular format. As we begin our monthly Zoom meetings, each member pops into view like a Brady kid, and we fit snugly into our triple-line grid. Here's the Story . . . is our first compilation of the writing that emerged from our Zoom meetings since 2020 at an online course called "Writing about Your Mom without Guilt," for the Story Circle Network, an international nonprofit writing organization. Not ready to end our special bond, we continued to meet and share our writing after the course ended. What has emerged is this anthology of forty-two pieces: essays, stories, and poems. In this book, we didn't focus on the usual "female" subjects, such as our significant others, children, and jobs. We wrote about the women we had been and the women we wanted to be. Each of us had lived a full and singular life. Women are capable of generous and congenial support. We lift each other during life's trials and rejoice in our successes. As such, we think this unique collection will inspire and entertain many, taking readers on a provocative journey. We are: Amy Baruch, Stephanie Cowell, Linda Aronovsky Cox, Karen Finch, Jane Mylum Gardner, Rhonda Hunt-Del Bene, Katherine Kirkpatrick, Kathleen M. Rodgers, and Andrea Simon.

Esfir Manevich is a young Jewish girl who lives in the Polish town ofKobrin in 1936. Facing anti-Semitism in public school, Esfir moves in withher charming aunt who runs a boardinghouse in the bustling city of Brest.Being younger than the other boarders, Esfir struggles to find a place inher new life, all the while worrying about her diminishing role in the familyshe left behind.As the years pass, Esfir experiences the bombing of her hometown duringthe German invasion of 1939. When the Russians overtake the area, Esfirsees many of her socialist relatives and friends become disillusionedby the harsh restrictions. During the German occupation, Esfir and herfamily are enclosed in a ghetto where they develop heartbreaking methodsof survival. In the summer of 1942, shortly before Esfir's thirteenth birthday,the ghetto is liquidated and the inhabitants are forced onto cattlecars destined for the killing fields and Esfir must face unimaginablehorror.