I’m happy to bring you a new Sponsor in our Valentines Day Gift Guide 2021 Cori Adjmi who had a copy of her book Life and Other Shortcomings sent to us in exchange for a spot in this years Guide.
Life and Other Shortcomings is a collection of linked short stories that takes the reader from New Orleans to New York City to Madrid, and from 1970 to the present day. The women in these twelve stories make a number of different choices: some work, others don’t; some stay married, some get divorced; others never marry at all.
Through each character’s intimate journey, specific truths are revealed about what it means to be a woman―in a relationship with another person, in a particular culture and era―and how these conditions ultimately affect her relationship with herself.
The stories as a whole depict patriarchy, showing what still might be, but certainly what was, for some women in this country before the #MeToo movement. Both a cautionary tale and a captivating window into women’s lives, Life and Other Shortcomings is required reading for anyone interested in an honest, incisive, and compelling portrayal of the female experience.
Homeschooling Charlie allows me to teach him things he might not learn in school. Or to study subjects more in depth. Including learning about the Jews and what they went through.
During our study Charlie and I sat down and read Life and Other Shortcomings as a family and through the book we was able to answer questions all three of us had.
Allowing us to dig further into resources we might not have looked for if we hadn’t had a copy of Life and Other Shortcomings. I just wish my grandmother had been here so I could have shared this book with her as she was part Jewish and thank the Lord she didn’t face some of the things others faced.
About:
How do we talk about culture and flaws amidst the riot at the Capitol?
The recent, disturbing images of white-supremacists brandishing “Camp Auschwitz” and “6MWE” t-shirts at our nation’s Capitol have left us all in fear, anger, sadness and confusion, and has had a deep impact on the Jewish community.
For many, this is not their first experience with antisemitic outrage and intolerance. Many in the Jewish community may have experienced it in their everyday lives… during their daily commute to work, at the grocery store, on a walk, or even in their own workplace.
Corie Adjmi, women’s empowerment advocate and bestselling author of ‘Life and Other Shortcomings’, touches on the impact that recent antisemitism, racism, and intolerance has had on her work:
“When I started writing fiction two decades ago, I didn’t worry about showing Jewish characters in a bad light. Everyone has a shadow side and when it comes to writing, the dark angle is often what’s most fascinating. But recently, I’ve wondered if I should feel guilty sending my flawed, Jewish characters out into this world. Am I adding fuel to the fire?”
“This is a sensitive time: writers and storytellers are feeling it as we grapple with how to write about our own, while simultaneously being discouraged from writing about marginalized groups outside our own gender, race, sexuality and religion…” says Adjmi.
How do we portray people as whole, complete (and even flawed) when there is already so much societal stigma? For me personally its how do we explain everything going on in the world. How do we raise a child in this world and keep them safe?
Meet the Author:
Corie Adjmi grew up in New Orleans. She started writing in her thirties, and her award-winning fiction and personal essays have since appeared in over two dozen publications, including North American Review, Indiana Review, South Dakota Review, and, more recently, HuffPost and Man Repeller.
In 2020 Life and Other Shortcomings won the American Fiction Award in the short story category, and in 2019 the collection was a finalist for the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize from BkMk Press.
When she is not writing, Corie does volunteer work, cooks, draws, bikes, and hikes. She and her husband have five children and a number of grandchildren, with more on the way. She lives and works in New York City.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
