Tag Archives: JCC Palm Beach Gardens

A High Barr

14 Nov

Meet Lisa Barr. She’s an investigative reporter who morphed into a best-selling novelist. Her smile is as wide as the Grand Canyon, and her energy is infectious. And when she talks about her novels, she’s riveting. I was lucky to meet and hear Barr recently at the Celebrating Sisterhood event at the Mandel JCC Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. I was the co-chair of the event (left, below) along with my friend (right, below) Sandra Rosen.

More than 235 women attended the event. Barr gave the back story about her journalism career working for The Jerusalem Post, Moment magazine and Today’s Chicago Woman. One interesting note is that she happened to be on vacation in Washington D.C., while working at the Jerusalem Post. She was one of the few reporters who witnessed the handshake between Arafat and Rabin, orchestrated by President Bill Clinton. Unfortunately, peace was not attained and fast-forward to a world of rising anti-Semitism.

Barr personally is encountering anti-Semitism because as a Jewish author some publishing houses and literary events joined the cancel culture. See the recent article in The Hill.

Her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor, inspired her latest novel The Goddess of Warsaw. The protagonist is a fierce, dynamic woman who is determined to survive the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. She becomes a Hollywood starlit with many secrets. Barr unravels the plot in a captivating, compelling narrative.

Read this five-star novel!

That Little Black Dress

18 Nov

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Want to read a fashionable, fun book? Then, I recommend Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen. I had the opportunity to meet Rosen (above, left) at Bloomingdale’s in Palm Beach Gardens and then hear her speak at the JCC lunch at the Kravis Center. The book is written like a screenplay and is a fast read. Every chapter has a different narrator with a story about  the same black dress. Some of the narrators are a runway model, a movie star, a salesperson, a pattern maker, a Broadway diva, etc. The true star of the story is the little black dress which is the “it” fashion statement of the season.

I understand the audio book is just as charming as the print version with all the distinct character voices.

The book begins with this apt quote from Yves Saint Laurent: “What is important in the dress is the woman who is wearing it.”

Here I am, (far right) with my friends all wearing little black dresses.

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