Have you ever felt the pull to put pen to paper, to explore your Jewish identity through storytelling, or simply to sit in a room filled with creative energy and possibility? If so, I invite you to join JWriters, a new Cincinnati Jewish writers group brought to you by Cincy Jewfolk. I am so excited to facilitate the monthly JWriters meetings that will provide a space for inspiration, connection, and growth. Click here to learn more about JWriters and to RSVP for the first meetup.
Writing is my outlet, my passion, how I best express my thoughts, creativity, and opinions.
I first discovered a love for the written word in my 7th-grade English class. We started every day by writing in a journal, sometimes responding to prompts given by our teacher, sometimes writing on a topic of our choosing. During one of those free, unstructured sessions, I decided to try my hand at a short story that had been brewing in my head. I still remember that story, an overly dramatic tale about a young teenage girl not unlike myself. Yet the process of writing creatively opened the floodgates to more ideas, thoughts, and words on paper. Putting the stories living in my head onto the page was experimental and cathartic, and soon, I was hooked. My imagination soared.
In high school, I spent countless hours behind my computer, churning out the beginnings to novels that ranged from 18th-century historical fiction (a time period I was fascinated by after watching Dangerous Liaisons and Amadeus) to science fiction sagas inspired by my love of authors like Robert A. Heinlein and Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov, to dark gothic tales influenced by Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, books I absolutely devoured. I shared my writing with my friends. I told everyone that my dream was to become an author like those I admired. My parents got me my own personalized license plate, WRITR (it’s still on my car to this day). I pursued this passion in college as an English major, dreaming of the day I would see my own words in print.
At that time, I also found a deeper connection to Judaism.
Judaism has always been a part of my life. I was raised in a Reform Jewish household, attended Sunday school, had a Bat Mitzvah, celebrated the holidays, and enjoyed the beauty of Jewish traditions. But it was the dawning realization that my family had experienced the Holocaust firsthand that ignited something in me that has been burning to this day: a deeper calling to preserve our culture, our heritage, and our beautiful way of life.
Growing up, I was very close to my grandmother. Since she didn’t drive, I would often visit her in her condo to bring her groceries or take her out to lunch. We would spend afternoons together, looking at family photos and watching films like Fiddler on the Roof and Crossing Delancey. I knew she had survived the Holocaust, but one afternoon at First Watch, she shared some of her experiences with me, telling me stories I had never heard before about the family she had lost in the war and her time in the concentration camps. At that moment, I knew that her story would be the subject of my first novel. I felt something deep in my bones (call it genetic memory, call it ancestral ties to the past) that suddenly defined who I was and demanded I tell her story. I put aside all my other projects and devoted myself to studying and writing about the Holocaust. I graduated with a Jewish minor as well as an English major and was ready to begin my career as a Jewish writer.
Melissa and her grandmother holding hands
But life, as it often does, went in a different direction.
I found a few jobs that utilized my writing skills, but writing a novel was a lot more work than I had anticipated. I struggled with finding the right voice for my grandmother’s story. I struggled to put myself into her shoes, to make the woman I knew in person come to life as a character on the page. I started my novel many times and in many different formats (first person vs. third person, as a series of short stories, essays, and even as a play). Nothing felt right. Then I met my husband, and after a few years of marriage, we started a family. For many years, my focus turned from writing to motherhood. I grew up with a mother who was always there when I came home from school, who volunteered in the classroom, who served as a Girl Scout mom, and who never hesitated to drive me to my extracurricular activities or sit down to help me with my homework. I wanted to be there for my own girls in the same way, and I was fortunate that I was able to be a full-time mother. Raising my two amazing daughters has been the greatest joy of my life.
Melissa with her husband, daughters, and grandmother
As time passed, my little girls grew up into young women who didn’t need me as much. When they entered high school and got their driver’s licenses, I found myself with more time on my hands. That was when I considered returning to my writing. But I had reservations. Like any skill left unpracticed, I wondered if I would be rusty. I worried that I had lost the passion that once defined who I was. Despite my doubts, I pulled out the binder that held the many pages of writing I had done over the years and dove in once more. This time, my grandmother’s story spilled out onto the page. This time, I approached my writing from an older, more mature perspective. This time, I was able to harness emotions I hadn’t felt in my early teens and twenties.
I had finally found my voice.
My first success came when I completed the final draft of my novel, What She Lost, and sent it to a select group of publishers.
That’s when I received a letter that would change my life. My manuscript had been accepted for publication! It didn’t matter to me that it was a small press. It didn’t matter that I would have to do a lot of my own PR to get the word out. All that mattered was that my words would be in print, brought to life as a book by a publisher that believed in me and would help me share my story with the world.
In the intervening years, I have spoken to students reading What She Lost in the classroom and to book clubs and other organizations. I volunteer with the Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center in Cincinnati, promoting their vision of being an Upstander and learning from the lessons of the past. I have written a second novel (Eight Wishes, a Hanukkah romance), and I am now at work on two other Jewish-themed novels (one of which, ADAM, is being published by Jewfolk, Inc.). I also found work as a writer, accepting a job as assistant editor to our local Jewish newspaper before joining Cincy Jewfolk as a columnist and podcaster. My experience with Cincy Jewfolk has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. The staff has been so collaborative to work with and so supportive of my ideas!
When we decided to launch a Jewish writers group for the community, I was thrilled to serve as facilitator. I wanted to help shape a program that would combine a love of the writing process with a love of Judaism. I was excited to spend time with others who share my passions. Writing is very personal and very insular. While it can be solitary, it does not have to be lonely. Whether typing on a computer or writing in a journal, you are often alone with your thoughts. I’ve always found joy in writing with others, of having a space to bounce ideas off others, or just enjoy their quiet company. So I am excited to welcome my fellow Jewish writers to this new group! Whether you are a seasoned writer or just starting off, drafting your first paragraph, polishing a manuscript, or simply looking for a creative space to journal your private thoughts, I hope you’ll join me. Together, we can nurture our voices, encourage one another, and celebrate the power of writing! Click here to learn more and to RSVP for the first meetup – I truly hope to see you there!
