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Story tellers come in many shapes and sizes. My abilities were honed through the art and craft of film editing. That was how I earned my living. My writing was an avocation, and a file cabinet of stories and ideas in various stages of completion is testimony to that hidden pursuit. My sister, Fran Yariv, is a writer with a number of published novels and several screenplays under her belt. Fran is much more than a sister; she's my best friend and the reason my novella, "Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz" is being published, along with her companion piece, "The Caregiver." Fran's belief in the project brought it to fruition and ultimately, to Syracuse University Press. The book, titled "Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz and The Caregiver: Two Stories" will be available in bookstores on April 29 of this year. It's available for pre-order on Amazon.
Syracuse University Press summarized the book this way:
In this pair of moving, gracefully poignant novellas, sisters Pokras and Yariv explore the world of the elderly with deft humor and heart-wrenching detail. Pokras’ Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz introduces us to the remarkable Golde Moskowitz, an elderly Russian widow living alone with her memories. In Golde’s world, "signs" are everywhere, the dead converse with the living and dreams are real. Natalie Holtzman, a thirty-six-yearold graphic artist longing for connection, fills her world with work and with Artie, her commitment-wary boyfriend. One sweltering summer morning, Natalie, on her way to work, quite literally "runs into" her and the lives of both women are forever changed.
Yariv’s The Caregiver unfolds in a series of stories, revealing the inner workings of Sunset Hills, a fictional upscale assisted-living facility in Hollywood. Narrated by Ofelia Hernandez, a young Latina caregiver, the stories capture both the mundane routines and the absurdities of the residents’ lives. With deep empathy and subtle humor, Yariv crafts intimate portraits of characters whose passion, intensity, and intelligence are only magnified with age.
We're proud of this first book and would like to share the words of Carol Saline:
"Caring for aging parents is one of the most common experiences sisters share, but few can transform their responsibility into bittersweet words of wisdom the way the Pokras sisters, Fran and Barbara, have done. This book, with its tender, funny, and revealing insights into the world of the elderly, is a must-read for every caregiver."
—Carol Saline, author of the New York Times best seller Sisters
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