Page 7 - Jewish News_January-2021

FEDERATION NEWS January 2021 7A

People of the Book...continued from page 6A
and we have become hypersensitive to Texas and Florida) to teach voters about my own personal opinions, sure, and in their life. And I believe that our suc-
everything. It is counter-productive to state executive races during the 2018 I share those from time to time in the cess as a country is directly tied to how
what it sets out to do. Comedy used to midterms. The Hollywood Reporter book under the header “IMO” (in my many people participate in, interact
be free-flowing and there was some- listed him as one of entertainment’s opinion). They serve more as a jump- with, and understand our government
thing wonderful and unifying about “35 Rising Executives Under 35.” In ing-off point for discussion. But in at the federal, state and local levels.
it. Now you have to think twice about 2016, he helped register 50,000 voters truth, there were no political parties Most of all, I learned that I like turning
everything you say. You can say the through digital videos as executive di- when the Constitution was written, people into civic participants. If they’re
most innocuous thing in the world, rector of Save the Day. so this is a book about now fascinated by the things they used
and somebody is going to take offense. His newest book takes government, not pol- to be bored by, I’ve done my job.
I hope the pendulum swings back to- readers on a tour of the itics. Too often those Myla Goldberg / Feast Your Eyes
ward the middle again, because it is Constitution and what things are conflated. It’s Myla Goldberg majored in English at
becoming very prohibitive. its words really mean. like explaining the rules Oberlin College, and then spent a year
What did you learn about your- From the Preamble to of football to someone. teaching and writing in Prague before
self by writing this book? the 27 amendments, That’s a wholly separate moving to Brooklyn, New York, where
Mary Karr, America’s most fa- this guide is packed conversation than try- she still lives with her husband and two
mous memoirist (author of The Liar’s with valuable informa- ing to tell them which daughters. Goldberg’s first published
Club), said, “Writing a memoir is not tion, and will educate team to root for. And I novel was Bee Season (2000), a New
really an act of writing. It is an act of and empower you to think in an era where York Times bestselling story portraying
memory that is innately corrupt.” And know your rights and we’re forcing almost the breakdown of a family and the spir-
it’s true. You tell the story you want to be an informed citizen everything onto one itual explorations of its two children
tell, highlighting the things you want of the United States. Ben Sheehan side of an ideological amid a series of spelling bees. It was
to highlight. Look, I wasn’t wearing What or who inspired you to spectrum, hopefully people are finding a popular and critical success, and was
a wire for the last 50 years. There is a write this book? this nonpartisan approach refreshing. adapted into a film in 2005. Her second
self-examination involved in writing My mom. She worked in the U.S. What did you learn about your- novel, Wickett’s Remedy (2005), was
a memoir. So much of it is person- Senate and gave me civics lessons at self by writing this book? set during the 1918 influenza epidem-
al. You’ll see my wife is in there, my the dinner table when I was little, so I learned that I enjoy explaining ic. Her long-awaited novel, Feast Your
children are in there, Gilda, Garry and this is my way of paying it forward to things in a way that helps them stick. Eyes, is the story of Lillian Preston
my other collaborators – Martin Short, those who never learned how govern- I don’t like elitism in academia. People – a woman photographer best known
Billy Crystal and Larry David – they ment works. And that’s a huge group, aren’t smarter than others just because for catching people in unguarded mo-
are all in there. The book gave me the because only eight states today require they’ve had more access to informa- ments, who grappled with ambition
opportunity to find out what I consid- a year of civics or government between tion. It just means they’ve had the and motherhood. Feast Your Eyes is
ered important in my life. It’s a huge K-12. It’s a problem we need to solve privilege of that access at some point continued on next page
therapy session as you sift through all immediately.
those memories. You get to the truth What message does your book For a complete schedule
and then you write outward from there. convey about the times in which we of events, admission
Benjamin Sheehan / OMG WTF Does live?
the Constitution Actually Say? There is literally no mention of information, author bios

Ben Sheehan is a former award-win- left, right, conservative, liberal, Dem- PEOPLE OF THE BOOK and book synopses,
ning executive producer at “Funny Or ocrat or Republican in the whole book.
Die.” Sheehan founded OMG WTF I realized that I didn’t need to approach visit jfedsrq.org/books.
(Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, this from a partisan angle. I do have

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