The Sixth Soul:
A Jewish Magic Realism Novel
The “Sixth Soul” is a story about a woman being pursued by her destiny—which she runs away from—while uncovering the surprising truth about who she really is.
Talia Greenberg is a divorced Jewish mother of a young teen boy. Her life is starting to unravel: her terrible ex-husband is suddenly taking an interest in their son; her best friend has moved to Israel to become more religious…and the light of ten suns has burst from her chest.
My story follows Talia as she learns from her out-there rabbi that Jews have Five Souls: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. The first soul she meets is N (Nefesh), a muscular woman toting a baby snow leopard at the gym whom no one can see but Talia.
As she meets the other Four Souls, Talia wonders why she’s been chosen to see them. She increasingly becomes convinced she’s the Sixth Soul, and her ex-husband is increasingly convinced she’s lost her mind and takes steps to gain sole custody of her beloved son.
How to Be an Asshole:
A Collection of Essays
My essays range from how I raced another customer to the front of the line at the local food co-op to my beef with Christmas trees. My theory is that it’s best to embrace our inner asshole or else it will be the one running the show. After all, everyone has one.
Other essays explore how to handle outer assholes, as when a total stranger put a curse on me at my mother’s funeral.
I see them everywhere, even in inanimate objects. In “Power to the Matzoh. Manifesto to the Peeps,” the matzoh is pretty darn mouthy.
My hope is that readers take heart that wherever they are on the A-Spectrum, I can beat them to the front of the line.