Books and movies often emotionally affect me. Not only books and movies but once a performance run completed, I’d mourn that I would no longer perform a particular dance. I'd play the music and visualize the movement in my head awake, and then again, in a dream. The loss of a dance was like the loss of a friend.
I’m reading David Harris-Gershon's book, “What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife? A Memoir.” I’m reading it slowly because I know that once I’ve finished it, I’m going to experience loss again. The loss of a story unfolding, of lives interacting and truth unraveling; my quiet dialogue with the author will have ended and a second narrative in which I attempt to tell the story of what happened next without knowing will begin in vain. Reading one’s memoire is a different experience than a work of fiction and when there are, even in tangential ways, connections that one shares with the author, the experience of reading their words becomes a personal narrative beyond the author's and one in which the author will never know has been inspired.
I am taken back to my own life experiences of extreme stress, trauma, deep love, parenthood, healing, understanding, atoning… all items I have familiarity with having walked a different journey than David's but gently touching in these same places.
A week later:
I’ve finished the book now and so another journey is under way, beginning in the deeper subconscious and working its way towards discernable thoughts that will eventually effect or transform my experience of being and connecting with others. Some of the journey will be unknown to me while the latter part, I am certain, will enrich and remind me of the authentic self I wish were more easily accessible, because therein lies the touching stone in which anxiety and pain can be lessoned. Similarly, it was David's journey in becoming a writer combined with his attempts to heal that took him on an authentic journey culminating in a deeper understanding of himself, his people, and the Palestinians whom he eventually came to honor as his friends. The story of healing for one man is also a narrative of healing for others and one in which shines a light on the painful truths that both prevent and encourage peace and healing between Israelis and Palestinians.
For a thoughtful review of David's book, click here to read Yahoo Voices by ramara (she gets paid when we click).
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate.