Spring 2023

The 

WRITER’S LIFE

A Glimpse into a Writer’s Career

The Second Seder

If you’re a Jew in the diaspora it is not unusual to attend two seders. Passover is celebrated with a family service recalling the events of the Jewish Exodus from Egyptian slavery. During ancient times diaspora Jews didn’t have an organized calendar so depended on rabbinical advice as to when to celebrate the holidays. To avoid missing the all-important Seder, they conducted it for two nights. Even after a calendar was established, traditions were embedded, so the second seder remained. (Note: Israelis living in Israel only have one seder.) This year I hosted Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf’s second seder in my condo building’s Rec Room. We had 20 people present between the ages of 4-months to 90 years and everyone had a wonderful time, even my baby grandson who slept through most of it, was the center of attention.

The Lip Reader

In 2004 I wrote an inspirational essay about my fiancé, Jila. At the time, I had known her for five years and was impressed with her loving nature and devotion to family. Growing up deaf and Jewish in Iran would have been difficult for anyone, but Jila didn’t become bitter or angry. She provided love and guidance for her younger siblings and a trail of friends and relatives who respected her. The essay reported on all this and the hardships Jila faced and how she persevered. I entered the essay into the 74^th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and won first place and $1000. 

After Jila passed away in 2015 I felt compelled to tell her story to the world. The Lip Reader was published in 2021 and won First Place Inspirational Fiction in the 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. 

In their Passover issue this year the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles published a two-page spread book review of The Lip Reader written by award winning writer, speaker, civic action activist and weekly Jewish Journal columnist, Tabby Refael. {The Jewish Journal never publishes a two-page spread for a book review. Tabby’s review, “For a Deaf Woman from Iran, Freedom Never Sounded so Good” was the first.} I was humbled and brought to tears by Refael’s words as she described in great depth a novel that took me four years and buckets full of tears to write. Her review is absolutely amazing. 

For a Deaf Woman From Iran, Freedom Never Sounded So Good

The Jewish Deaf Congress

The Jewish Deaf Congress, a national resource center, rooted in Judaism and the deaf experience, with the goal of life-long Jewish learning and discovery held their annual retreat October 7-9, 2022, at the Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center, in Reisterstown, Maryland. The dominant language during the retreat was American Sign Language. I reported on the event for the Jewish Journal that you can read here: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/355300/jewish-deaf-support-and-the-right-to-community/

Hardly Hearing: A Journey into Deafness

For a year I wrote twelve chapters for a sequel to The Lip Reader. I thought people would be interested in Mickey’s story, but when I showed the writing to my editor she said, “It lacks focus and universal appeal.” I realized she was right, so abandoned that project and started again with a tightly focused non-fiction book about my experience with hearing loss. I hope the book will act as a guide for other people who suffer from deafness during their adult years. I’ll keep you posted on this journey. 

Family

As mentioned earlier, I have a new grandson born last December named Abel Jozana. Recently, I attended my granddaughter’s performance in “Little Shop of Horrors.” Though I couldn’t understand one word spoken on the “Little Shop of Horrors” stage, I went anyway to show my granddaughter I was there to support her. Arielle is in sixth grade and one of the youngest performers on stage. We are all so proud of her. 

A few years ago, my twin brother, Elliott, was diagnosed with bone cancer. He was in remission for a while but no longer. We chat every Wednesday, which is a good thing. Please say a prayer for him. 

As we age, we experience the daily changes life brings—a newborn baby, successful ventures, and of course the losses we are confronted with. How we deal with these changes helps define our character and the content of our hearts. 

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