Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
Joan of Arc, Patron Saint of France, was a 17-year-old peasant girl in 1429 when she defied gender stereotypes and led French troops into battle. Believing she was acting under divine guidance, her victory at the siege of Orléans secured the coronation of Charles VII and turned the tide of the Hundred Years’ War against the British and in favor of France. On May 30, 1431, at Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, she was burned at the stake for heresy. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
Joan of Arc, a 17-year-old peasant girl, was a divinely inspired warrior
Maurice Hilleman was 43 when he created the vaccine for mumps after his daughter contracted the illness in 1963. He swabbed the back of her throat, drove to his laboratory in the middle of the night, and turned the sample into the vaccine we use today. Hilleman single-handedly developed more than 40 vaccines, including the eight commonly given to children (measles, mumps, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia, and Haemophilus influenzae), saving millions of lives and preventing serious complications Unfortunately, those advances are now in danger. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
Thank Maurice Hillman for the life-saving vaccines, especially for children, that are now under threat
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
My Goodreads and Amazon Review of This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman (Rated 5) – A Sage Family Saga.This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman is the saga of a three-generation Jewish family, told from multiple perspectives. The tale opens when the youngest of three sisters, Jeanne, dies at the age of 74 and her two older sisters, Helen and Sylvia stop speaking to each other. Sylvia, a gifted baker, has the audacity to bring an apple cake to the shiva, using a recipe attributed to Helen, a terrible baker. The sisters’ feud has implications for their children and grandchildren, each of whom is wrestling with their own place in the world, be it marriage, parenthood, career, and/or simply growing up and growing older themselves. Each chapter is a story unto itself, but knitted together, they offer a cohesive view of family dynamics in all their complexity, messiness, and competitiveness, as well as a source of identity, solace, and love. The characters’ small personal epiphanies will make readers think grandly, “Ah, yes! That’s how it is for me, for everyone.” A universal picture emerges from particular details. Goodman writes with a keen eye, a lively sense of humor, and empathy. She has a knack for penetrating the hearts and minds of people as different as a young girl, a divorced middle-aged father, and a dissatisfied but doting grandmother. As a novelist who also writes from several points of view (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admired her skill at linking their tales while respecting the individuality of each. This absorbing book is about all of us.
Goodman writes about us, about all families
Why writers read: “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” – George R. R. Martin
At age 62, Baroness Bertha von Suttner of Prague was the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The 1905 award cited her strong anti-war stance, voiced in her influential novel Lay Down Your Arms. A good friend of Alfred Nobel, she also helped convince him to establish the peace prize in his will. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
A royal and influential voice for peace
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
Horses must be 3 years old to compete in the Triple Crown races: Belmont Stakes, Preakness, and Kentucky Derby. Only 13 horses, all age 3, have ever won the Triple Crown. Secretariat holds the record for the fastest time in each race, set in 1973. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
Horses must be at least 3 years old to compete in the Triple Crown races
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
Rudyard Kipling was 41 when he won the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature, the youngest writer to do so. The British journalist, novelist, poet, and short story writer was also the first English-language author to receive the award. Cited for “the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas, and remarkable talent for narration,” Kipling is best known for his novel The Jungle Book and poem “If —,” a guide to becoming a virtuous and resilient individual by adopting the Victorian virtues of patience, self-control, integrity, and perseverance. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
Kipling was the youngest & first English-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
Doris Haddock (a.k.a. Granny D) age 89 in 1999 when began walking 3,200 miles from Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to promote campaign finance reform. She covered 10 miles a day, skiing when necessary, and relied on the kindness of strangers for housing and meals over the 14 months her journey took. At 94, Granny D unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, one of the oldest candidates to pursue a national office. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
This nonagenarian walked cross-country in favor of campaign finance reform
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
Alexander the Great was 20 when he became king of Macedonia in 336 BCE. By 30, he’d conquered much of the known world, creating an empire from Greece to northwestern India. Undefeated in battle, he is considered one of history’s greatest military commanders. He founded more than twenty cities and spread of Greek culture, leading to its dominance. Alexander died at 32 of unknown causes, likely from an infectious disease but possibly poisoning. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
Alexander the Great conquered the world by age 30
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
Henry Puyi was 2 years old when he became the last emperor of China, reigning as the Xuantong Emperor of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. During this tumultuous time, imperial rule was replaced by the Republic. Puyi abdicated at age 6, was briefly restored to power by a warlord, and became the puppet emperor of a Japanese-controlled state in WWII. Following the war, he was imprisoned by the Communist government, but was later pardoned and lived a quiet life as a gardener in Beijing until his death at age 61. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.
After briefly becoming China’s last emperor at age 2, Henry Puji lived his final years as a gardener
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
My Goodreads and Amazon review of Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer (Rated 5) – Dying’s Partners.Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer is an unflinching novel that pointedly asks: How do we care for a loved one who is dying? Who in this world do we want with us when we leave it? Eliot wants to continue caring for his wife Claire, as he has for the decade since her cancer diagnosis. Now that she is terminal, Claire tells him she wants her two best friends to take on that role instead. Demoted to the status of visitor, Eliot must confront his feelings of rejection and inadequacy, while simultaneously handling his grief. Some Bright Nowhere then expands into a sensitive treatise on marriage — the strong bond between husband and wife — and friendship — the fierce attachment between women. How do you navigate parallel tracks of love that threaten to veer into a competition? Although the book is written from Eliot’s POV, Packer also captures the perspectives of Claire, the couple’s grown children, and Claire’s lifelong friend Holly. In perceptive vignettes, readers also glimpse the contrasting dynamics of male friendship. As a certified end-of-life doula, I was impressed by Packer’s accurate portrait of the “work” of dying. And as a novelist (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I valued her ability to delve into the minds and hearts of her struggling characters. Kudos to Packer, who has written a bright and illuminating book about a dark and taboo subject.
Before death do them part
Why writers read: “Books are people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” – E. B. White
