Three positives that I'd like to share with you. Now, don't get me wrong, finding positives in a world that continues to dismay many of us is a challenge. So, we all need to grasp for whatever we can that will brighten an otherwise dark shadow that can feel overwhelming at times. Of course, our families and friends can make a difference in our lives, as can our health and safety. As my wife and I have said entering our'60s, "while we can." For her, she continues to work diligently in cancer research. I'm always in awe of her dedication and passion. For me, it's writing books that I hope will have an impact in some small way on helping readers to understand the trauma of war, the effects that are perpetuated not only post-war, but often for generations, but also the resilience that human beings are capable of despite the odds stacked against them.
I am soon to publish Surviving the War in Bosnia: Stories from the Diaspora in the United States, Reflections from the Next Generation. The journey to publish this book has taken many twists and turns, but I was always determined to get these stories out. How else can we attempt to understand what it is like to flee being targeted for genocide, and the will to overcome the loss that never leaves survivors, and the hope to move past it as best as one can. The book also features young adults incredibly poignant personal reflections of their experiences growing up in a household with parents who survived the war.
My latest book, Between Shadows and Light, has been submitted to a number of publishers as I await an intriguing response. This book is a biographical fiction that features the story of Moris Albahari, who was a Yugoslav Partisan fighting the Nazis and their allies during World War II. Moris, a Sephardic Jew, must hide his Jewish identity for fear of antisemitic reprisals among comrades who are prone to such hate. But it is much more than that. Moris, who was an adolescent at the time, is faced with many obstacles that only war can bring. It has been a heartfelt and challenging project to bring the humanity of Moris into the fold to add to other Holocaust literature.
I am not a poet, by any means, yet I was moved to respond to a 'call for poems' by editors of Dear Human on the Edge of Time, an anthology of climate crisis poetry. The book won the distinguished 20th Annual American Book Fest award for best poetry anthology of 2023. Here is the link to learn more. In the link, scroll to "Poetry-anthologies.
I appreciate your patience with me as I continue to embark upon new projects in the big journey we call life.
Best,
Jordan
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