Book Fair offered variety of authors, topics

Editor’s Note:  The San Diego Jewish Book Fair concluded Sunday evening, Nov. 16, after more than 30 authors spoke over the intervening week.  Sheryl Rowling, who usually writes about business and personal finance for San Diego Jewish World covered three of those authors: Ayelet Waldman, Love & Treasure; Jonathan Eig, The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution; and Rebecca Ann Alexander, Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found.  Following are her combined reports.

By Sheryl Rowling

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Sheryl Rowling
Sheryl Rowling

LA JOLLA, California — How do you find the inspiration to write a book? As a stay-at-home mother, Ayelet Waldman felt that a “write what you know” novel about carpools and soccer games would not make for a fascinating read. She enjoyed research and so decided to link topics that interested her: visual art, the Holocaust and Hungary. Why Hungary? Waldman was friends with the ambassador to Hungary and, thus, could get a tax deduction for visiting her!

Her next challenge: How do you write a book about the Holocaust without trivializing the evil? This was a concern for Waldman, who wanted to avoid exploiting the Shoah with a life affirming story presenting a falsely positive perspective. Her answer: Write a book about the Holocaust not set in a camp or a ghetto.

The happenstance combination of elements (visual art, the Holocaust and Hungary) produced an intriguing multilayered story based on the Hungarian Gold Train.

In pre-war Hungary, Jews enjoyed success and contentment. Jews were doctors, lawyers, currency brokers, scholars, feminists, dignitaries, Nobel prize winners, writers, and even Olympic gold medal winners.  Since Hungary was an ally of Germany, Hungarian Jews were somewhat sheltered from the horrors occurring elsewhere. However, in the spring of 1944, Hitler invaded Hungary and Jews were ordered to hand over their valuables to the Jewish Property Office. While art, gold and other precious items were carefully catalogued with receipts, Jews were taken by the trainload to be murdered in Auschwitz.

The contents of the Gold Train, which would have been worth billions in today’s dollars, are mostly lost. Whether or not of tangible value, each of these items were owned by Jewish families – some with survivors.  How do you value a piece of family history? To what length would you go to find even one item or trace a painting’s history?

Interweaving mystery, history and romance, Love & Treasure will keep you spellbound.

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Jonathan Eig, former Wall Street Journal reporter, presented his book The Birth of The Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution. With previous books on Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson and Al Capone, writing about the Pill was quite a change of genre. Eig credits his wife and his Rabbi for the inspiration. Remembering his wife’s advice to “write a book more women would read”, Eig was captivated by a High Holy Day sermon related to women.

The Rabbi, discussing the obligation to transform the universe as partners of God, said that the Pill was the biggest invention of the 20th Century. Really? Eig was intrigued. On considering the impact of the Pill, he thought that maybe the Rabbi was right. The 50s were male dominated. Women’s lives were controlled by husbands, pregnancy and children. They married young and stayed at home while men ran businesses and the country. That all changed with the advent of the Pill.

Eig decided to research the origins of the Pill and discovered that this society-changing invention came from the efforts of four different, yet unified people: Margaret Sanger – feminist crusader, Gregory Pincus – outcast scientist, Katharine Dexter McCormick – philanthropist and John Rock – renowned doctor

In this fascinating dive into history, Eig describes how the visionary Sanger imagined a miracle tablet that a woman could take daily to prevent pregnancy – giving her control over her own life and health. With society, the government and drug companies unwilling to pursue such “blasphemy”, the odds of creating the “miracle tablet” were minimal. Yet, with the discoveries of a brilliant scientist, funding from a supportive benefactor and a gynecologist’s surreptitious testing strategies, the Pill was born.

From the four protagonists to the women of the time, from the government to the Catholic Church, from the eugenics movement to the FDA, the characters in this “stranger than fiction tale” tell the story of incredible bravery and rebellion.

To Eig, it’s a story of how individuals can see a need in the world and make a difference. Quoting one of his favorite lines, “Life is only important for the impact it has on other lives.”

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In Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found, author Rebecca Ann Alexander recounts her challenges and triumphs with Usher syndrome – a condition that causes progressive loss of sight and hearing. Awaiting the presentation, I expected to see a figure wreaked with disability. Instead, Alexander is a vibrant, energetic young women who kept the audience spellbound with her talk. A psychotherapist and spin instructor with two masters degrees from Columbia University, Alexander is a shining example of how determination and attitude can overcome even the most challenging obstacles.

 

Descriptions of emotional milestones were heart wrenching: realizing that other kids would eventually see her hearing aids, admitting that she truly needed her cane to maneuver streets, facing her insecurities around the opposite sex. Alexander made it her mission to control what she could, by becoming academically and physically perfect.

As a therapist with a therapist of her own, Alexander has dealt with her illness with perseverance and resilience. She has learned sign language as well as tactile signing. She’s endured the surgery and training required for a cochlear implant. And she has joined the deaf and blind communities as a member and supporter.

The story of conquest over challenges, accomplishments of positive thinking and success over adversity never gets old. It is life affirming and thought provoking. Yet, in discussion with my friend who accompanied me, there is another perspective. As a counselor to (very) disabled veterans and county health patients, my friend pointed out that the author’s story is not typical.

Alexander had a supportive family and resources that enabled her to become the success that she is. Less fortunate people would likely not have gotten a diagnosis until treatment or training might have been ineffective. Many afflicted people do not have the resources to attend Columbia or have access to a cochlear implant. It’s not a question of whose disability is worse. It is an issue of socio-economics. For any disabled person to have the opportunity to persevere against the odds, adequate support and resources are a must.

A good read? Inspirational? Absolutely! The same “happy ending” possible for all? Unfortunately, not in today’s world.

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Sheryl Rowling is a certified public accountant, personal finance specialist, and principal of Rowling & Associates. She may be contacted via sheryl.rowling@sdjewishworld.com