At the suggestion of his daughter, nursing home resident Sam Fox records his life story. “Now where to being with this taping for Eliza? I was a decent man, I suppose.” In that “I suppose,” author/journalist Roni Robbins sets in motion the engaging but unreliable narrator in Hands of Gold, subtitled One Man’s Ouest to the Find the Silver Lining… Read More »Roni Robbins’ “Hands of Gold” explores and celebrates one man’s soul
The struggles encountered by Samuel and Hannah in “Hands of Gold” were a product of the times, making it out of Hungary and landing in Canada before sneaking across the border to New York in the early 1900s. Granted, we have struggles of our own in these more modern times, but nothing like what Samuel and Hannah experienced. The constant… Read More »Robbins Recounts Her Grandfather’s ‘Hands of Gold’
Roni Robbins new novel was inspired by her grandfather’s recorded memories that weave together a family’s history over much of the last hundred years. Twenty-seven years ago, Roni Robbins inherited a well-worn cardboard box with ten audio tape cassette recordings of her grandfather, Simon Farkas. These tapes contained reminiscences of Farkas’s long life, told over a two-year period, before he… Read More »Robbins’ New Novel Finds Silver Lining in Misfortune
Hospice Nurse Julie, as she is known on TikTok, didn’t start out trying to be a social media star. Julie McFadden, RN, BSN, told Medscape Medical News she was just trying to normalize death and dying, taking the fear out an often-taboo subject, particularly in life’s last moments. The result, however, has put her in the spotlight. Six months ago, McFadden started posting… Read More »Life at the Deathbed: Hospice Nurse Uses TikTok to Teach About Dying
More than two decades ago I began the path to becoming an author, using my knowledge as a journalist to create a story that began with facts and developed into a novel. I took a break from full-time newspaper writing to raise my two young children and write a book based on cassette tapes my grandfather left about his life,… Read More »Career Transition: From Journalist to Author
Roni Robbins shares why her Dad is the best, coolest or funniest in town. Steve Kayne – Asheville, N.C. My dad is cool in a nontraditional way. How many Long Island Jewish girls have a father who’s a blacksmith? He started in our Hauppauge, N.Y., garage pounding iron into artwork, decorative pieces, fireplace tools and hardware. And he still crafts… Read More »2021 Father’s Day Tribute: Steve Kayne
‘The Takeaway Men’ brings Holocaust and 1950s New York City to life with powerful relevance to those who grew up in a similar environment post World War II. Anyone who grew up in New York in the shadow of the Holocaust with immigrant relatives will most likely feel the power of the newly published “The Takeaway Men.” That includes me,… Read More »When Historical Fiction Meets Reality
Two Jewish community event organizers played matchmaker for their parents. It ended in wedded bliss. Little did Howard Fagin know — when he was trying to honor his deceased wife several years ago — that he would be led to his future spouse. The love story mirrors the biblical narrative of Abraham and Sarah, which Rabbi Ron Segal of Temple… Read More »Never Too Late for Love
July was a tough month for our dog Scout. It started when we went away for the July 4 weekend to a family wedding in New York that twice had been rescheduled because of the pandemic. To find the right petsitter, I put out feelers on Nextdoor and screened candidates until I found what seemed a perfect fit. Then we… Read More »My Dog Has a GPS
Roni Robbins shares why her mom, Shirley Kayne, should win. Sitting across from my Mom this Passover and hearing her read the Hebrew and sing the melodies we grew up with, I realized what a treasure she is. Will I ever be able to duplicate the precision with which she chants? It brought back memories of the way her father… Read More »Mother’s Day Tribute: Shirley Kayne