With gratitude to Susan from 29 for her beautiful review yesterday, and to Susan Gardner for embracing/promoting this idea, I'd like to welcome you to my official U.S. book release party here at Daily Kos for my memoir: What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?
For details about the book giveaway and party, jump below the squiggly thing.
Due out on September 10 (and available for order now), this book has been a long time in the making, and one in which I truly believe. For a full picture of what this book's about, Susan's review is tremendous. However, for a snapshot, here's my publisher's 175-word description:
When David Harris-Gershon and his wife, Jamie, moved to Jerusalem, they were young and full of hope. Then a bomb ripped open Hebrew University’s cafeteria, hurling Jamie across the room, puncturing her body with shrapnel, killing the friends sitting next to her.
The bombing sent David on a psychological journey which, years later, led him to East Jerusalem and the family of the Hamas terrorist who set everything in motion – the terrorist he was seeking.
Not out of revenge. Out of desperation.
This is the story of one man's attempt to heal by understanding his enemy – an enemy who inexplicably expressed remorse upon being captured by Israeli police. It’s the story of reconciliation between an American Jew and the Palestinian family of the perpetrator. And it’s the story of digging, of unearthing shadowy decisions made by Israel which undermined a historic cease-fire attempt by Palestinians just days before the attack.
Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, this fearless debut confronts the personal costs of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – and our capacity for recovery and reconciliation.
Slate calls it
"fierce", The Guardian calls it
"brave and impressive," and some reviewers online have found it
"surprisingly funny." While flattering, none of those reviews compared to the humbling words Susan from 29 wrote yesterday:
Most Daily Kos readers are familiar with David Harris-Gershon (aka The Troubador) from his work's frequent appearance on the Recommended List. Clear and accessible as always, his prose in this book is compelling and at times lyrical. Planning to read for an hour or two before bed, I read until four in the morning, unable to put the book down.
It is a riveting account, not only of the bombing [that injured his wife], but of Harris-Gershons' attempt to rebuild their lives, coming home to the United States, the births of their two daughters, and of his return to the Middle East. The self-deprecating humor often found in the internal dialogues which he conducts with himself and with inanimate objects, leavens the dark nature of the tale.
Okay, okay ... so, enough about the book. It's time to celebrate. First, I'm here to answer questions, chat in the comments, and generally just enjoy whoever walks in the door. So please, ask questions, spill drinks on the rug, dance a bit, call me names ...
Second, I'm giving away two copies of the book! Here's how it will work: if you Tweet or Facebook about my book or this 'release party,' I'll throw your name in my dingy hat. Make sure to @ mention me on Twitter (@David_EHG) or on Facebook (David Harris-Gershon) so I know to put you in the drawing.
WAIT, I hear you say, I DON'T DO SOCIAL MEDIA! No problem. Just Kosmail me a cute picture of a cat. That'll suffice as well!
And with that, let the party begin. I'll be here as long as the NFL is keeping me awake, likely until the day officially ends on the East Coast.
Oh, and as for celebrating when the topic of my book is so serious, and what happened so difficult, a word:
I've chosen to celebrate this with you, in part, because I believe in the importance of this book, and in the book itself.
Given the subject, it may seem strange to some that I am, indeed, celebrating. But I've tried to create something beautiful out of something tragic.
Whether I succeeded is for others to decide.
This is what I'll be listening to (which I've been doing with such regularity these days that my wife, who used to like Mumford & Sons, no longer does.)
Oh, and I'm drinking this:
Update 11:44 PM EST - Thank you everyone so much for your support! This was quite meaningful for me – I truly appreciate this community.
I drew two winners from all the Tweets, Facebook posts and cute animal pictures, and they've been contacted. Let's do this for the next author/artist, eh?