Q&A with Lauren H. Kerstein

  

 

 

Lauren H. Kerstein is the author of the new children's picture book Hope Rode: The Promise of the Packhorse Librarians. Her other books include Remembering Sundays with Grandpa. She is also a psychotherapist.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Hope Rode?

 

A: I was inspired to write Hope Rode after reading The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. At the end of her book, she has a small paragraph that talks about how her book is based on a real-life program that took place during the Great Depression.

 

How had I never heard of this fascinating and world-changing program? I took off in a gallop (see what I did there) and read every packhorse librarian book I could get my hands on, whether fiction or nonfiction, adult or children’s.

 

Kim Michele Richardson’s books fueled my inspiration even further. I am thrilled she recently released a picture book about her beloved Junia!

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: Researching this book was an absolute joy. I read articles, interviewed incredibly knowledgeable experts, devoured books (nonfiction and fiction), scoured databases, listened to interviews, and watched documentaries and videos.

 

The most surprising (and disheartening) part of the process was discovering just how difficult it was to obtain information about whether or not the BIPoC community was involved in the program. But I kept digging and digging until I found answers. You can read more about this in the backmatter.

 

Q: What do you think Becca Stadtlander’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Becca Stadtlander’s illustrations are exquisite. They add so much to the book. In many ways, the Kentucky landscape is a character unto itself, and Becca truly brought this to life. Additionally, she captured the emotional resonance and significance of this program so beautifully.

 

A picture book is a team effort and Becca’s work truly illuminates the critical role the illustrator plays in bringing a book to life in the way that it was meant to be. Becca added her own details and touches, all of which made this story come to life in ways I would have never imagined.

 

Q: The Booklist review of the book says, “In lyrical language, Kerstein salutes the packhorse librarians—women who were hired by the Works Progress Administration to provide mobile library services to remote areas of Kentucky.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that description. Hope Rode is my love letter to the packhorse librarians and librarians everywhere. The brilliant Esther Cajahuaringa suggested I revise the book using lyrical language instead of prose, and this shift felt so right and representative of this beautiful program.

 

The women were hired by the Works Progress Administration, but they were not given a single supply. In order to provide mobile library services, they had to rent horses or mules and find ways to gather books, magazines, and other materials.

 

Lyrical language gave me the ability to reveal all of these details while paying tribute to both the librarians and the patrons who received their kindnesses, guidance, and care.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Short answer—a lot. In addition to ghostwriting, I am working on a number of projects (including screenplays) with my talented writing partner, Stacia Deutsch.

 

Additionally, I have a number of manuscripts out on submission (including a YA). I hope to have lots of good news soon. I am crossing my fingers that someone acquires an important, meaningful, and hopeful picture book I wrote with my other talented writing partner, Nathaniel Kaplan.

 

Meanwhile, I am awaiting release date information regarding a fiction picture book I sold a couple of years ago, and enjoying a virtual book tour for Hope Rode that The Children’s Book Review organized for me.

 

Shout-out to the wonderful Bianca Schulze and all of the bloggers (present company included) who have been so generous with their time.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I have work-for-hire board books coming out this spring with Books are Fun. And writing them was SO MUCH FUN! I LOVED writing in rhyme!

 

I am a creative coach and work with the best clients EVER! I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help people make the heart of their work SHINE and walk beside them as they make their writing dreams come true.

 

I will leave you with one lesser-known fact: I work at a makeshift standing desk with one leg up on the desk. Picture a flamingo, but with their legs in an L shape. It is odd, but it works for me.

 

Thank you for having me! 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Lauren H. Kerstein. Enter this giveaway for a chance to win one of five signed hardcover copies of Hope Rode by Lauren H. Kerstein. One lucky grand prize winner will also receive a signed copy, a swag pack, and a $30 gift card to their favorite indie bookstore. Giveaway ends April 30, 2026, at 11:30 PM Mountain Time.

Q&A with Sherry Ellis

  

 

 

Sherry Ellis is the author of the new children's picture book Happy Birthday to US!. Her other books include Don't Feed the Elephant. She lives in Atlanta. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Happy Birthday to US!?

 

A: The inspiration came from a rather unusual source: my day job. I am the executive director for an orchestra. As the board and I worked on planning the 2025-2026 season a couple of years ago, we realized that it would be America’s 250th anniversary. My author-brain immediately kicked in and thought it would be cool to write a book celebrating this milestone.

 

As I played around with the topic, I realized there weren’t any books addressing the possibility of a child having a birthday on the Fourth of July and thinking the celebrations were all for him. I thought this would be a fun way to explain the real meaning of the holiday plus incorporate the fun of a summer birthday.

 

Fortunately, the book was picked up by a publisher and is here in time for the semiquincentennial celebration. 

 

Q: What do you think Nina Hvozdzeva’s illustrations add to the story?

 

A: I think Nina did a fabulous job with the illustrations. Of course there are plenty of patriotic scenes with red, white, and blue. But she also did a great job in covering all the ethnicities of Americans. People of every race and color are pictured, making it easy for everyone to identify as being American no matter what their heritage is.

 

Q: How did you get interested in writing for kids?

A: My writing career started more than 20 years ago while I sat with my 3-month-old son in a rocking chair at 3 in the morning. A poem started going through my head. I have no idea why. Must’ve been sleep-deprivation. It was the beginning of my first book, That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN!

 

It probably would have stayed in my head, but I decided to share it with my daughter, who was 3 years old at the time. She liked it and thought it should be a book. The rest is history.

    

Q: What do you hope kids take away from your new book?

 

A: I want kids to understand why we celebrate the Fourth of July. I also want them to feel a sense of pride in being American and to appreciate the freedom they enjoy.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I have another picture book manuscript, an idea for another middle-grade book, an idea for an adult historical fiction book, and I’ve started a memoir.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: You can learn more about my work on my website, www.sherryellis.org

 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Sherry Ellis. Readers who join this virtual book tour have the chance to win a signed copy of Happy Birthday to US! by Sherry Ellis and a $50 Amazon gift card. Here’s the giveaway link!

Q&A with Kerry Olitzky

  

 

Kerry Olitzky is the author, with Samantha Orshan Kahn, of the new children's picture book The Right Blessing: An Identity Story. His many other books include An Etrog from Across the Sea. He is a rabbi, and he lives in New Jersey. 

 

Q: What inspired you and Samantha Orshan Kahn to write The Right Blessing? 

 

A: Throughout my rabbinic career, I have tried to reach out to those on the periphery of the Jewish community and help them see that there is a place for them within Jewish life.

 

As more transgender children and their families become visible in our community—and as the current political climate can make their lives more difficult—we felt it was important to tell a story that reflects a real and loving family experience.

 

The Right Blessing explores what it means to navigate Jewish ritual and tradition while affirming a child for who they truly are. This project is deeply meaningful to both of us as rabbis, and especially to Samantha, who brings her perspective as the parent of a transgender child.

 

Q: What do you think Violet Tobacco’s illustrations add to the story? 

 

A: I’ve always believed that a truly gifted illustrator should be able to tell the story even without the words on the page.

 

Violet Tobacco absolutely does that here. Her illustrations bring warmth, emotion, and nuance to the story, allowing readers to feel what the characters are experiencing even before they read the text. She adds another layer of meaning that deepens the story and helps make it accessible and affirming for children and families alike.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “The authors have crafted an affectionate yet realistic portrait of a family who make a few mistakes along the way but whose love and support for their child is never in doubt.” What do you think of that assessment?

 

A: Since Kirkus is widely considered the gold standard for book reviews, I was grateful for its affirmation of what we hoped to accomplish with the story.

 

We wanted to present a family that feels real—one that sometimes makes mistakes, as all families do, but continues to grow and learn together. We didn’t want to shy away from the challenges that can arise in everyday life.

 

At the same time, the heart of the story is the belief that love, support, and a willingness to listen can carry a family through those moments.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: We hope that transgender children and their families will see themselves reflected in the story and feel affirmed and uplifted by it. At the same time, we hope the book helps other readers develop a deeper sense of empathy and understanding.

 

Ultimately, our goal is for every child to feel that they belong—and that Jewish life and tradition have a place for them exactly as they are.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am always working on new ideas and new storylines—it’s one of the joys of writing. I’m especially excited about a project that has already been accepted and is now in production: ABC Jewish Heroes and Me, which will be published by Apples & Honey Press and is scheduled for release in October.

 

I do have a few other projects in the works as well, but my publishers are understandably a bit protective of those ideas until they are ready to be formally announced.

 

Q: Anything else we should know? 

 

A: One piece of news I’m especially excited about is that my recent book Across the Jewniverse, written with Deborah Bodin Cohen and published by Apples & Honey Press, has been selected by PJ Library for its PJ Our Way series for slightly older readers. It’s a real honor, and we’re thrilled that the book will be reaching so many young readers and families.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Kerry Olitzky. 

April 23

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
April 23, 1895: Ngaio Marsh born.

Q&A with Cathryn J. Prince

  

 

 

Cathryn J. Prince is the author of the new biography For the Love of Labor: The Life of Pauline Newman. Her other books include Queen of the Mountaineers. She is an adjunct professor of journalism at Fordham University. 

 

Q: Why did you decide to write a biography of labor leader Pauline Newman (1887-1986)?

 

A: It was sometime in early 2021 that I first learned about Pauline Newman, and when I did I was immediately drawn to her story.

 

I was captivated by so many personal aspects of her life – coming to the United States from Lithuania in 1901 as a child, her pursuit of learning in spite of never having the luxury of obtaining a formal education, the decision to raise a daughter with her lifelong partner Frieda Miller, the trove of writing she left behind.

 

And then of course the number of issues she championed– ending child labor, ensuring safe working conditions, fair pay, access to health care, women’s rights. The more time I spent researching her the more current she, and her work, felt.

 

Q: How did you research her life, and what did you find that especially surprised you?

 

A: I knew I wanted to start my research at The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives, Cornell University. However, because it was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic it was closed for in person research.

 

Fortunately, by the time I began my project the archivists returned to work and they were unbelievably helpful. I was able to request files and they would scan and email me what I needed. I would not have been able to begin my work had it not been for their efforts.

 

When the world opened again I made multiple trips to the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and also New York University’s Tamiment Library.

 

Beyond reading Newman’s primary source materials, I also delved into the papers of the other people in her life: her partner Frieda Miller, her close friend and confident Rose Schneiderman, as well as other labor leaders like Clara Lemlich, Mary Dreier, Frances Perkins, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

 

Throughout the process I appreciated the chance to discover and sort through the ephemera of Newman’s life, from her naturalization certificate to the scores of post cards and cheeky greeting cards she and her colleagues sent.

 

There were also the reams of documents of a more serious nature – from testimony before Congress and the New York State Assembly to reports on things like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

 

Without giving too much away here, there are two things that especially surprised me.

 

One, it’s that she and her lifelong partner Frieda Miller raised a daughter together and it was just simply accepted that they were a family – it was not made into an issue.

 

Two, I was initially surprised to learn she opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. Of course the more I learned, the more I understood why she, Eleanor Roosevelt, and others in the labor movement took that stance.

 

Q: The writer Paige Bowers said of the book, “Prince pays a stirring, cinematic tribute to labor activist and writer Pauline Newman, whose Dickensian experiences as a child laborer in the early twentieth century inspired her lifelong fight for better wages, better hours, and safer working conditions.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I am so appreciative of, and grateful for, Bowers’ description of For the Love of Labor. I think yes, there are definitely elements of Dickens in Newman’s childhood – from having to go find a job at 9 years old in a hairbrush factory, then a cigar rolling factory, then a shirtwaist factory.

 

In each case she was working 12-hour plus days, earning meager wages, being surveilled by supervisors, having timed bathroom breaks. The conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. But instead of being beaten down by this, Newman makes it her mission to educate herself and she devotes her life to lifting others up.

 

Q: How would you describe Newman’s legacy today?

 

A: Newman’s legacy is lasting and far-reaching. Hers is a story of grit and gumption. She knew that progress would be incremental, hard-won, and collective.

 

She began working in the sweatshops of the Lower East Side and in the end had a seat in the conference rooms of policy reform. She showed that real change begins when ordinary people demand dignity.

 

Newman had both a working and personal relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt and Frances Perkins, which meant she played a part in shaping the New Deal.

 

Her intimate knowledge of working in sweatshops helped formulate the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, landmark federal legislation that among other things established the 40-hour workweek and ended oppressive child labor.

 

She served on the New York State Commission to enforce equal pay laws and was frequently consulted on state minimum wage codes, ensuring that "starvation wages" were legally challenged.

 

As the first female general organizer for the ILGWU, she cleared the path for women leading major unions today.

 

Liz Shuler is the first woman to serve as president of the AFL-CIO, a federation of 60 national and international unions representing 12.5 million workers. There’s also April Verrett of SEIU, who is working to organize home care and service workers—sectors historically excluded from labor protection.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Aside from teaching and freelancing, focused on getting Pauline Newman’s story out. More than 100 years after Newman got a job in a hairbrush factory as a 9 year old, her message endures: labor rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: In all of Newman’s speeches, testimony before Congress and state legislatures, in all her articles and poetry and personal correspondence, I found that Newman not only longed to belong, but to make things better for as many people as possible – which of course stemmed from her own experience of losing her father at such a young age, arriving as an immigrant with nothing, going to work as a child laborer.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Cathryn J. Prince. 

Q&A with David Woo

  

 

David Woo is the author, with Margalit Shinar, of the new novel Merry-Go-Round Broke Down: A Novel of Guilt, Greed & Globalization. He is an economist and global macro strategist.  

 

Q: What inspired you and Margalit Shinar to write Merry-Go-Round Broke Down?

 

A: Globalization is the defining story of our lifetime. It touches everyone, everywhere, whether they know it or not. To understand globalization is to understand the forces shaping the world we live in today: income inequality, U.S.-China rivalry, populist nationalism.

 

Margalit and I set out to write a novel about globalization in the way The Great Gatsby captured the spirit of the Jazz Age. Because the globalization we know is not an abstraction. It is a web of human stories interconnected, unequal, and often unseen.

 

In The Plague, Camus explored how people behave when the world around them begins to break down. We wanted to do something similar in the context of globalization: to show how it binds us together and, at times, pulls us apart.

 

Whether we succeeded is for the reader to decide. But our goal was simple: to write a story that anyone could understand and, more importantly, relate to. 

 

We felt uniquely placed to tell this story. I was born in Pittsburgh, Margalit in New York. I was raised in Taiwan, she in Israel. We spent 10 years in Europe, where I began my career. Between us, we speak five languages. My 25-year career at the International Monetary Fund and on Wall Street took me across continents and introduced me to people from many nations and walks of life. 

 

This is a story about globalization told from the inside.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: We took the title Merry-Go-Round Broke Down from the 1937 Looney Tunes theme song, composed during the Great Depression, on the eve of World War II. Globalization was a lot like a carousel exhilarating and full of promise, until it spun out of control.

 

The title also reflects a deeper idea: once you are inside the global system, it keeps moving whether you are ready or not. People step on thinking they can steer their own path, but the structure has a momentum of its own. Getting off is not so easy.

 

It is also a story about repetition booms and busts, optimism and regret. The same patterns play out across countries and across time. Different characters, the same underlying forces.

 

There are unsettling parallels between today and the run-up to the Great Depression, including the rise of protectionism, which helped turn a downturn into a global collapse in the 1930s.

 

We worked closely with the renown graphic designer Noma Bar to bring that idea to life visually and I think he nailed it, creating an optical illusion of a man trapped within a horse’s bridle. It’s worth a look, even if you don’t read the book.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: It took us more than 10 years to write the book, including three years of research. We rewrote it again and again. But the ending was never in doubt. There was no happy ending.

 

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the writing was on the wall. The recession that followed was only the beginning. As someone who made a living on Wall Street predicting the future, it was clear to me that economic turmoil would give way to political turmoil and then to geopolitical turmoil.

 

We began working on the book 15 years ago. If it feels timely today, it is because the forces we set out to capture in our novel have since played out in real life. It makes me feel sad but not surprised. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away about globalization?

 

A: Globalization has made the world smaller. We are connected in more ways than we realize. A decision made in one place can shape the life of someone far away who has no say in it.

 

Globalization has produced winners and losers, but not by design. It is not conspiracies but economic incentives that drive the process and those incentives, if left unchecked, can lead to outcomes that harm everyone.

 

Globalization is not new. It began thousands of years ago, during the Bronze Age, with the discovery of how to make bronze. Producing bronze required both copper and tin metals rarely found in the same place. Copper was abundant in Egypt and Greece, but tin had to be sourced from as far away as present-day Afghanistan.

 

That necessity gave rise to vast trade networks: land routes stretching across Eurasia and sea routes linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. Along these routes traveled not just goods, but people, ideas, and culture.

 

Globalization, as old as civilization itself, has been a powerful force for progress. But history also shows that periods of rapid integration can reverse. The great wave of globalization in the late 19th century ultimately collapsed with the outbreak of World War I.

 

We wrote this book to make a complex subject accessible to anyone. Because the better we understand these forces, the better choices we can make about our shared future. Like it or not, we are in this together.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am currently focused on building and running my macro research platform, David Woo Unbound, where I deliver weekly analysis on global markets, geopolitics, and economic shifts. The platform provides structured investment insights, including trade ideas, daily briefings, and a system for translating macro views into specific stock picks.

 

I also produce regular content, including videos and reports, that challenge mainstream narratives and highlight major global inflection points across economics, politics, and technology.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: This book is not meant to tell people what to think about globalization. It is meant to show how complicated it is when you are inside it.

 

Many of the characters believe they are acting rationally, even responsibly. Some are. Some are not. But all of them are operating within constraints that limit their choices. That is the part that tends to get lost in public debate.

 

If readers come away with a better sense of that tension, then the book has done its job.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Ann Diament Koffsky

  

 

 

Ann Diament Koffsky is the author of the new children's picture book biographies What Emma Wrote: The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty and Blazing Humor: Mel Brooks Is Seriously Funny!!. She lives in West Hempstead, New York.  

 

Q: Why did you decide to write a picture book biography of Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), and how would you describe her legacy today?

 

A: Thanks for having me, Deborah! You always ask such great questions.

 

Actually, this project  started out as an entirely different book.  With America’s 250th birthday—the Semiquincentennial—on the horizon, I thought it might be the perfect moment to tell the story of how  the first Jews arrived in America.

 

What I found was incredible. In 1654, just 23 Jewish refugees arrived from Brazil, escaping the Inquisition. Their journey was quite the adventure! They were attacked by pirates along the way, Peter Stuyvesant nearly sent them back… I thought it was an AMAZING story. So I wrote it. Submitted it. And it was rejected—A LOT!

 

But then, one editor noticed something I had included at the very end: that Emma Lazarus was descended from those early arrivals. They suggested, “How about a story about her instead?”

 

I knew very little about her other than the fact that she wrote the poem on the Statue of Liberty. That was it. But the suggestion sent me down a new path and I uncovered so much more—her deep compassion for immigrants, her advocacy—Emma is AWESOME!

 

Her legacy has so many layers: She is a model of how to use writing as a way to help and advocate for others and for a cause. She is a model for being proudly Jewish in a culture that isn’t so sure what it thinks about Jews. She is a model for women being out there and doing their thing and using their voice in a male-dominated society, too.

 

Q: You also have a new picture book biography of Mel Brooks (1926- )--why did you choose to write about Brooks, and do you have a favorite Mel Brooks film?

 

A: Because he’s FUN!

 

And he’s celebrating his 100th birthday this year (wow!).

 

And he has a new movie coming out.

 

And most importantly, I’ve always been struck when I’ve read interviews he’s given about how he uses humor to address tough topics like racism, antisemitism, and more. For him, humor is a tool for resilience, and I think that’s an incredible message of his to share with kids.

 

My favorite Mel film has gotta be Blazing Saddles. Especially when they break the fourth wall at the end of the movie: genius!

 

Q: What do you think the illustrations--by N. Tarcan and Jason Kirschner respectively--add to the books?

 

A: So much!

 

N. Tarcan’s illustrations really capture the look and feel of the 1800s beautifully. All the little details, like fine china on Emma’s desk, the unique clothing, the period writing desk really help place Emma in time, and help the reader connect to her story.

 

She also did a fantastic job capturing Emma’s personality—I love the piece where Emma is angrily responding to an antisemitic article. The expression and set of her jaw is just perfect.

 

Jason Kirschner added a lot too, because he happens to also be a Mel Brooks super fan! Because he is, he was able to add in SO many amazing Mel details and trivia. Like when he illustrated the writers room—he actually drew portraits of all the real life writers that Mel worked with!

 

Plus his illustrated “photo album” at the end of the book, showing highlights of Mel’s life and relationships he had with his wife Anne Bancroft and BFF Carl Reiner, add in some much great texture to Mel’s story.

 

Q: How did you research the lives of these figures, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: For Emma the most surprising things were details like: did you know she was a teacher at the 92nd St Y? Or that she was a member of the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue? These are institutions that I have visited myself, so it’s cool to how connected she is to my own, living, Jewish  community.

 

For Mel, I just loved hearing about his service in WWII. It’s not something you think of when you think “comedian,” so I was just struck by that.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: A bunch of things! I’m thrilled that a new picture book biography about Ludwig Guttman, the founder of the Paralympic games, was just acquired by Apples & Honey Press. And I’ve got a new Passover book coming next year about flamingos who learn about the seder on one foot. That one is with Intergalactic Afikoman.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yes, please share with folks that I create free Jewish coloring pages and distribute them for free. They can sign up to receive them on my website www.annkoffsky.com or on substack at https://coloringjewish.substack.com/. Thanks as always!!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Ann Diament Koffsky. 

April 22

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
April 22, 1873: Ellen Glasgow born.

Q&A with Deborah Santana

  

 

 

Deborah Santana is the author of the new memoir Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom. Her other books include Space Between the Stars. She is also the founder of the Do A Little Foundation.  

 

Q: What inspired you to write your new memoir?

 

A: I was inspired to write Loving the Fire for my three adult children. I wanted them to have a record of the many experiences that formed me as a person, to know the strength of their ancestors, and the influence of the activists and artists I’ve been fortunate to meet and be in circle with.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I wrote a poem that said “I wish my mother had not died before I found my way through a burning forest, flames crawling up bark and branch, singeing my legs as I ran…” It was a poem about going through divorce and feeling on my own, with no one pulling me from the flames as my mother would have.

 

The memoir is a story of how I grew to appreciate the fire I went through as it burned away what I no longer needed and I expanded into the soul I was created to be.

 

Q: How would you describe your marriage to the musician Carlos Santana?

 

A: Marriage, like life, is a school. Relationships teach us about ourselves and how to hold love with another person. If one is lucky, marriage is magical, full of aliveness in every cell, with effervescent wonder and passion.

 

Each person has an intention in the marriage. Mine was to be together until we grew old, but life brings change. I invested time in my children, my spiritual life, returning to college after our third child was born, and focusing on issues facing women and girls. After 34 years, we grew apart.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: I have written many versions of Loving the Fire! It has been arduous to add significant details, to take some chapters away, and to work with my editors to shape what is in the final book. I was committed to show how my daily meditation and seeking truth and awareness have created a beautiful life.

 

Finishing this memoir impacted me in ways of feeling full, offering gratitude that I can tell my story, and humbled by the glorious experiences I’ve had. I want readers to know it is never too late to choose yourself, to breathe in the wonder of spirit and to live in truth.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I continue my work with my Do A Little Foundation and am a lead investor and co-chair of the Courage Museum Steering Committee, a museum that will open in 2027 in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park.

 

This museum will provide visitors with an interactive teaching environment where the artifacts on display are stories and statistics of courage and resilience told by survivors of violence and injustice.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Archbishop Tutu said, “Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the presence of deep and abiding justice.”  May we walk in ways that promote justice for all. Thank you.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb