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.
World Kindness Day, celebrated every year on November 13th, reminds us of our universal capacity to show compassion and good will toward one another. Established in 1998 by a global collective of helping organizations, the World Kindness Movement and its annual celebration transcends political, religious, and geographical divides. People are encouraged to perform acts of kindness — paying for a stranger’s coffee, organizing community events — in the belief that they will be inspired to be guided by kindness throughout the year. Collectively, small acts can have a big impact. Want to know about other lesser-known holidays coming up each month? Sign up for the monthly Ann S. Epstein Writer Newsletter using my website CONTACT US page. Write NEWSLETTER in the subject line and confirm the email address where you want to receive the Newsletter in the message. Remember to be kind, today and every day!
Small acts of kindness can collectively have a big impact!
Today, October 09, 2025, is Ageism Awareness Day. The American Society on Aging (ASA) says “Ageism refers to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination based on age. Its negative effects on well-being impact us at every age.” For perspectives on ageism from characters aged 9 to 90, read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at “a lively place where old people go to die.” More about the book in NOVELS.
Ageism hurts everyone
Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die
On August 25, 1939, 86 years ago today, The Wizard of Oz officially opened in movie theaters nationwide. Reviews were mostly positive, although some critics accused MGM of encroaching on Disney territory. The film pioneered the use of Technicolor and earned praise for its 17-year-old star, Judy Garland. Re-released in 1949, and shown on TV in subsequent years, The Wizard of Oz is today the third-most watched movie ever (after Titanic and E.T.). Read about the making of the movie and its “big” and “little” stars in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve., a fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Skipping down the Yellow Brick Road
A fictional bio of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner
Readers continue to praise The Sister Knot, an award-winning novel about the lifelong power of sisterhood in the aftermath of wartime trauma.
“This book would just not let me put it down.”
“An engrossing, moving and well-crafted novel about resilience.”
“Ann Epstein depicts these complex women with empathy, warmth, and insight.”
A deep, complex emotional understanding of the binding power of wartime trauma.”
“Reading the final chapters had me in tears.”
“A brilliantly gifted writer.”
“Lines that ache in their beauty.”
“The persistence and struggles the women have in maintaining their sisterly connection fuel the narrative from beginning to end.”
“I’ve read books by this author before, and one of the things she does best is handle often deeply unsettling history, circumstances and consequences with gentleness and nuance, all in the service of displaying her characters’ growth and resilience.”
Everyone is invited to a reading of The Sister Knot at the Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival: Local Author Event at the Ann Arbor Jewish Community Center (2935 Birch Hollow Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48108) on Sunday, November 17, 2024 from 11:00-1:00 Eastern Time. The event, including brunch, is FREE and OPEN TO ALL. Register for the in-person event so they know how much food to order. This annual event features a variety of authors and genres and attracts a lively audience. Hope to see you all there! Thanks for the support!
The Sister Knot: First Place Award in Literary Historical Fiction
Author Ann S. Epstein writes novel, stories, memoir, poems, and essays
Everyone is invited to a reading of The Sister Knot at Booksweet Bookstore (1729 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, 48105) on Sunday, November 3 at 2:00 PM ET. I’ll be reading with Caroline Huntoon, a nonbinary storyteller, educator, and author. The event is free and open to all. Hope to see you all there. Support Booksweet, your community bookstore!
The Sister Knot: First Place Award in Literary Historical Fiction
Author Ann S. Epstein writes novels, stories, memoir, and essays
As an end-of-life doula, I often ponder our reluctance to face death. We consider human cognition a blessing, yet many of us would prefer not to be “blessed” with the knowledge that we will die. Some take steps to avoid, or greatly delay, that reality. In recent years, Silicon Valley billionaires have invested in biotech start-ups and adopted lifestyles in pursuit of longevity, if not immortality. While the technology is new, the pursuit of a long life was also an obsession in medieval Europe. Some aspired to live for hundreds of years, like Methuselah. Then, as now, the emphasis was on prevention. One theory held that as a person aged, their body cooled and dried. While this process could not be stopped, proper living could slow it down. People were told to avoid sneezing and sex, which dried out the body; limit the intake of green fruits and vegetables; and avoid cutting their fingernails if the Moon was in the sign of Gemini, Cancer, or Pisces. Saturdays were a bad time for a manicure or pedicure. Yet a lot of old advice had merit and is now supported by empirical evidence: Exercise, get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, avoid excessive alcohol consumption, and take care of one’s mental health. Of course, it also helps to be rich. And lucky. Pope John XXI, who claimed he knew how to prolong life, died at 62 in 1277 when a ceiling collapsed on him. And the author of a 1489 medical text on longevity was killed by the disgruntled family of a patient. In sum: Accept the inevitable but do what you can to ward off the evitable: Eat your broccoli and cancel Saturday’s mani-pedi appointment. Most important, trite as it sounds, emphasize quality over quantity. It’s no coincidence that it’s usually the rich and powerful who want to unnaturally extend their time on earth. The rest of us want to use our allotted days well and bequeath valuable lessons and memories when our time is up. L’chaim.
“Webb [telescope] can also see further back in time [than Hubble] — a mind-bending thought. The light from this galaxy [Stephan’s Quintet] traveled through space for 40 million years before reaching Webb’s mirrors, which means we’re seeing it as it looked 40 million years ago. Webb is showing us the earliest moments in our universe’s history, fossilized in light.” (A Beginner’s Guide to Looking at the Universe by Kate LaRue, The New York Times Magazine, 11/12/23) “Fossilized in Light” — A metaphoric title for a story?
Stephan’s Quintet photographed by the Webb Telescope
There are as many answers to the question of why witches have green faces as there are warts on their noses. Here are some possible explanations: Theory One: Witches were said to concoct herbal potions. Herbs (the leafy parts of plants) are green. Theory Two: In the Salem witch trials, suspects were given henbane, a hallucinogenic that turned their skin green, to extract confessions. (The drug-induced “high” may also be the origin of witches flying on broomsticks.) Theory Three: Green is associated with being sickly, unwholesome, reptilian, and bilious (think of the four medieval humors), all “evil” witchlike characteristics. Theory Four: Green-skinned witches began with The Wizard of Oz, the first Technicolor movie. MGM used green face paint on Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West, because it was vibrant, scary, and ugly. Before that witches typically had red or orange faces. [In Baum’s books, good witches were pretty, bad witches were ugly. Skin color was not specified.] Want to learn more about the making of The Wizard of Oz movie? Read the novel A Brain, A Heart, The Nerve. More at NOVELS.
Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 Technicolor movie The Wizard of Oz
A fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner
In 1926, the wealthy eccentric barrister Charles Vance Millar, having no heirs, left the bulk of his estate to the Toronto woman giving birth to the most babies in the decade following his death. The race was on for his fortune, which newspapers dubbed “The Great Stork Derby.” Inspired by this real, but bizarre, event in Canadian history, I wrote the novel The Great Stork Derby, about an imaginary family caught up in the madness. Fifty years later, the ailing widower Emm Benbow, who made his wife Izora have lots of babies, must now face his estranged grown children. The novel asks whether this “bad dad” can finally learn that the true value of fatherhood is not measured in big prizes, but in small rewards. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Toronto, 1926: A husband pressures his wife to have babies for a large cash prize
