Page 8 - Jewish News_November-2020

8A November 2020 FEDERATION NEWS

People of the Book...continued from page 7A
others to live fully with their partner. detail, and then a third, each adding
I found out that speaking openly and to the story, like jazz musicians. The
honestly about being with someone past was malleable to them, history
you love at the end of their life and becoming a liquid thing. Their inten-
sharing the “real” parts of that process, tion, as storytellers, was not to create
is very helpful to so many people be- a precisely accurate account of what
cause we simply don’t talk about death had happened, but to remember its es-
enough in this part of the world. Final- sence. Perhaps there is a finer line be-
ly, I learned that through my own dev- tween fiction and memoir than we care
astating loss, I found I was resilient in to acknowledge. In both, we construct
JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation unexpected ways. narrative not solely on concise details,
Parnaz Foroutan / but more in hope of capturing some
Home is a Stranger ephemeral truth.
Parnaz Foroutan is the author of The What life lessons do you hope
Girl from the Garden, which received people take away from your book?
the PEN Emerging Voices Award and I don’t think I wrote this book
was named one of Booklist’s top 10 with the intention of offering any life
first novels of 2015. In her new book, lessons. It was written as an hom-
Helping Children Home is a Stranger, Foroutan leaves age to youth, to its foolishness and to
Diagnosed With Epilepsy Los Angeles for Iran 19 years after her grandiosity, its power and beauty. But
I suppose if I could offer my readers
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder anything, I would like to give them a
that can strike ANYONE, ANYTIME, different narrative of the people of Iran.
ANYWHERE. In fact, 1 in 26 people
will have a seizure during their lifetime. Stories set in Iran are often full of strife
Seizures impact both the individual and and violence, suffering and dogma.
the family. The stigma and social isolation; the inability to operate a vehicle to get Rarely in Western media or literature
to school, work or medical appointments; the uncertainty of when the next seizure do we see the human side of the Iranian
might occur; and the fear of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) are people, beyond the crowds, the chant-
the frightening realities for many families in our community. JoshProvides pulls
back the curtain on epilepsy, the fourth most common neurological disorder, ing, the burning flags. The stories of
through community awareness, education, offering a local monthly Epilepsy how people truly live – fall in love and
Support Group, and providing seizure detection & alert devices, transportation dance and hope and argue and experi-
assistance and assistance with medical services to children, families and ence joy and heartbreak – the stories of
individuals. Our families are NOT defined by their disorder…they are warriors being human and alive, those stories
who will overcome these obstacles thanks to your support!
aren’t told much. I’d like this work to
offer my readers a look at Iran beyond
Mission: To improve the quality of life for those living with epilepsy the politics and propaganda.
or other seizure disorders. What did you learn about your-

(800) 706-2740 self by writing this memoir?
JoshProvides.org family fled the religious police state. I suppose I gained a deeper under-
From the moment she arrives, she con- standing of the complexity of charac-
tends with a culture that feels both for- ter. To create a real character, in any
eign and familiar. Home is a Stranger story, memoir or fiction, you need to be
is a memoir about the meaning of de- compassionate. And honest. It is a bit
more difficult when you, yourself, are
sire, the transcendence of boundaries
2020-2021
C
R
H
TORCH and the journey to find home. the hero of the story. Who doesn’t want
TO
How is writing a memoir differ-
to be glorious and good and right all
the time? But that isn’t authentic, and
ent from other forms of writing or
S
S
R
O
S
SPONSORS the elders in my family. Whenever the are crucial in any hero’s journey. With-
P
O
N
it makes for a boring story. Weaknesses
storytelling?
I learned how to tell stories from
out them, there can’t be a transforma-
tion. And this is ultimately what makes
families gathered, the elders sat around
a table to talk about the past. I sat, lis-
tening, mesmerized, as they recreated a story, no? How the character grows,
learns, becomes something bigger than
an entire world together. A story began what he or she started out as.
simple enough. An elder would bring For reservations, visit jfedsrq.org/
up an occasion, and tell it from their books. For more information, contact
perspective, and another would jump Jeremy Lisitza at jlisitza@jfedsrq.org
into the narrative, and add a missing or 941.343.2113.
die and David Chaif
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Edie and David Chaifetz
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eon R. and M
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Leon R. and Margaret M. Ellin ADULTS
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gar
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arry
Debbie and Larry Haspel CULTURE
aspel
Debbie and L
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osen
oundation
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thal R
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amily
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Sylvia and Norman Samet
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Hadassah and Martin Strobel
H adassah and M artin S tr obel OF EVENTS Your Hub
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tulber
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Lois Stulberg IN SARASOTA for Jewish Events
ois S
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( and help fund crucial services for people in need here ( FAMILY LEARN
We offer our very deep appreciation
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They support our Federation’s efforts to bring
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in Sarasota-Manatee, in Israel and around the world. JFEDSRQ.org/JewishEvents
*As of 10/11/20