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In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym
This flip book is comprised of two
In Sickness and In Health - Lily had epilepsy as a child, so her most cherished goal has always been to be “normal”. By age 45 she has a “normal” life, including a family, friends, and an artistic career, and no one, not even her husband, knows the truth about her past. But now some cartoons she drew threaten to reveal her childhood secret and destroy her marriage and everything she has worked so hard for. A moving novella about shame, secrets, disabilities, and the limits and power of love.
Yom Kippur in a Gym – Five strangers at a Yom Kippur service in a gym are struggling with personal crises. Lucy can’t accept her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Ira, rejected by his lover, is planning suicide. Rachel worries about losing her job. Ezra is tormented by a mistake that ruined his career. Tom contemplates severing contact with his sisters. Then a medical emergency unexpectedly throws these five strangers together, and in one hour all their lives are changed in ways they would never have believed possible.
In Sickness and In Health - Lily had epilepsy as a child, so her most cherished goal has always been to be “normal”. By age 45 she has a “normal” life, including a family, friends, and an artistic career, and no one, not even her husband, knows the truth about her past. But now some cartoons she drew threaten to reveal her childhood secret and destroy her marriage and everything she has worked so hard for. A moving novella about shame, secrets, disabilities, and the limits and power of love.
Yom Kippur in a Gym – Five strangers at a Yom Kippur service in a gym are struggling with personal crises. Lucy can’t accept her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Ira, rejected by his lover, is planning suicide. Rachel worries about losing her job. Ezra is tormented by a mistake that ruined his career. Tom contemplates severing contact with his sisters. Then a medical emergency unexpectedly throws these five strangers together, and in one hour all their lives are changed in ways they would never have believed possible.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 2, 2024
In a Nutshell: A flip book containing two novellas, each having a thought-provoking character-oriented story. Loved the writing and character development in both the tales, though the second was a teeny bit esoteric for my comfort level. Nevertheless, a worthy pair of novellas great for literary fiction lovers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a set of two standalone novellas by acclaimed Jewish writer Nora Gold. Ms. Gold is known for establishing jewishfiction.net, an online literary journal devoted exclusively to Jewish fiction. Even since I read her compiled collection titled ‘18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages’, I have been curious to try more of her works. This flip book came as the perfect chance to explore her writing in detail, and my, what a wonderful experience it has been!
As this is a flip book, you can basically flip it to either side and read a story, an experience sadly impossible on my Kindle because I had the digital ARC. But the organised side of me was very pleased to discover that the first story ended at exactly the 50% point – the nerd in me loves the attention to details such as these. Thankfully, this is only available in paperback, so you can relish the flip book as it is meant to be.
Both the novellas have many features in common, and yet are distinct. Both are in literary fiction style, so both are character-oriented. While the first one has only one major character and the second one has multiple, each still ensures that we get inside the mind of the specific character and understand them in and out. Both stories have beautiful writing that enhances the impact of the story. Both are also somewhat slow in pace, which is okay for a literary work but some readers might not like. I had no issues with the languid pace as the plot kept me engaged.
The mood in both novellas is a combination of introspective and melancholy, with the first being more melancholy and the second weighing heavier on the introspection. To balance these heavy emotions, the stories contain plenty of wit and snark, which work perfectly to deliver a memorable experience.
Here’s the individual feedback on the novellas:
1. In Sickness and In Health:
An outstanding story about a woman named Lily who had epilepsy as a child and was told by her mother that she would never have a ‘normal’ life. However, now at age 45, she has a loving husband, college-going kids, a wonderful house and a satisfying job. Not even her husband knows about her erstwhile epilepsy. But now that Lily is suffering from some mysterious ailment that comes and goes with shocking regularity, she is sure that the Gods are punishing her for having the ‘normal’ life that she wasn’t supposed to.
The Goodreads blurb for this novella is intriguing enough, but it doesn't represent the story well by somehow making the plot sound more sinister. The actual story is even better.
Lily is an interesting character, and through her narration, she shows us a whole gamut of emotions ranging from hope to frustration to love to anger to doubt. I enjoyed how she would think absolutely serious thoughts, and suddenly pop in a funny but sarcastic interjection. Lily also has a funny habit that involves a multitude of languages. If you want choice abusive phrases from across the world, this story offers you plenty of resources. 😉 Lily’s husband Perry has a limited role, but he also leaves a mark.
My favourite part of this novella, and also its most challenging aspect, is that it is written in all three grammatical voices – third person for the flashbacks, second person for when Lily is in her guilt-trip zone for her illness, and finally first person for when… this, you will need to discover for yourselves. I admire how smoothly the writing glides across each perspective without making the proceedings convoluted. I am not sure if readers would enjoy these perspective shifts, but I found them very creative and intelligent.
I also love the title because it represents not only the dual health situations of the narrator but also the wedding vows that are possibly being challenged over the course of the narrative. (Though I'm not sure if vows are said with this phrase during a Jewish wedding.)
4.5 stars.
2. Yom Kippur in a Gym
At a Yom Kippur service being held in a gym, five strangers find themselves mulling over their past life choices and their future course of action. One of them is contemplating suicide. One of them has recently found out about her husband’s terminal health issue. One of them is haunted by a professional mistake. One of them cannot bring himself to forgive his father or heal things with his sisters. And one of them is worried about having miscalculated the quantity of cake required for the service. When something unexpected happens towards the end of the service, the result leads to a change in the future plans of the five characters.
As is evident, the problems of the five people are not the same in intensity. But the author approaches each of their situations with equal seriousness, and shifts the narrative baton to each of them in third person so that we see their life from their point of view.
In all honesty, I had no idea what ‘Yom Kippur’ meant. I read up a little about it before beginning this story, and found it an interesting concept – a day to repent for your sins ask for forgiveness. (This reminded me a little of the festival of ‘Paryushan’ celebrated by Jains, which also involves fasting and forgiveness.) At the same time, I loved how the author got one of the characters to say that Yom Kippur should be not just about reflecting on your sins but also for remembering your positive contributions in the last year so that you feel encouraged towards the future. What a lovely thought!
While I liked this story, it didn’t work for me at the same level as the earlier one, partly because the content was a bit too Jewish for my understanding. The author does explain every faith-related idea wherever possible, but to go full-dictionary mode would have obviously broken the spirit of the story. While the first half of the story focusses more on the individual reflections, the second section after the unforeseen event highlights a more unified and cooperative approach. Some incidents in the characters’ reflections weren't to my taste, but this is more a matter of reading preferences than anything problematic in the writing.
4 stars
As you can see, this indie book is definitely worth reading. I enjoyed its uniqueness as much as its content.
Recommended to literary fiction readers who love character-oriented narratives, thought-provoking writing, and a dash of Jewish culture.
4.25 stars, based on the average of my rating for each novella.
My thanks to Guernica Editions and NetGalley for the DRC of “In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a set of two standalone novellas by acclaimed Jewish writer Nora Gold. Ms. Gold is known for establishing jewishfiction.net, an online literary journal devoted exclusively to Jewish fiction. Even since I read her compiled collection titled ‘18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages’, I have been curious to try more of her works. This flip book came as the perfect chance to explore her writing in detail, and my, what a wonderful experience it has been!
As this is a flip book, you can basically flip it to either side and read a story, an experience sadly impossible on my Kindle because I had the digital ARC. But the organised side of me was very pleased to discover that the first story ended at exactly the 50% point – the nerd in me loves the attention to details such as these. Thankfully, this is only available in paperback, so you can relish the flip book as it is meant to be.
Both the novellas have many features in common, and yet are distinct. Both are in literary fiction style, so both are character-oriented. While the first one has only one major character and the second one has multiple, each still ensures that we get inside the mind of the specific character and understand them in and out. Both stories have beautiful writing that enhances the impact of the story. Both are also somewhat slow in pace, which is okay for a literary work but some readers might not like. I had no issues with the languid pace as the plot kept me engaged.
The mood in both novellas is a combination of introspective and melancholy, with the first being more melancholy and the second weighing heavier on the introspection. To balance these heavy emotions, the stories contain plenty of wit and snark, which work perfectly to deliver a memorable experience.
Here’s the individual feedback on the novellas:
1. In Sickness and In Health:
An outstanding story about a woman named Lily who had epilepsy as a child and was told by her mother that she would never have a ‘normal’ life. However, now at age 45, she has a loving husband, college-going kids, a wonderful house and a satisfying job. Not even her husband knows about her erstwhile epilepsy. But now that Lily is suffering from some mysterious ailment that comes and goes with shocking regularity, she is sure that the Gods are punishing her for having the ‘normal’ life that she wasn’t supposed to.
The Goodreads blurb for this novella is intriguing enough, but it doesn't represent the story well by somehow making the plot sound more sinister. The actual story is even better.
Lily is an interesting character, and through her narration, she shows us a whole gamut of emotions ranging from hope to frustration to love to anger to doubt. I enjoyed how she would think absolutely serious thoughts, and suddenly pop in a funny but sarcastic interjection. Lily also has a funny habit that involves a multitude of languages. If you want choice abusive phrases from across the world, this story offers you plenty of resources. 😉 Lily’s husband Perry has a limited role, but he also leaves a mark.
My favourite part of this novella, and also its most challenging aspect, is that it is written in all three grammatical voices – third person for the flashbacks, second person for when Lily is in her guilt-trip zone for her illness, and finally first person for when… this, you will need to discover for yourselves. I admire how smoothly the writing glides across each perspective without making the proceedings convoluted. I am not sure if readers would enjoy these perspective shifts, but I found them very creative and intelligent.
I also love the title because it represents not only the dual health situations of the narrator but also the wedding vows that are possibly being challenged over the course of the narrative. (Though I'm not sure if vows are said with this phrase during a Jewish wedding.)
4.5 stars.
2. Yom Kippur in a Gym
At a Yom Kippur service being held in a gym, five strangers find themselves mulling over their past life choices and their future course of action. One of them is contemplating suicide. One of them has recently found out about her husband’s terminal health issue. One of them is haunted by a professional mistake. One of them cannot bring himself to forgive his father or heal things with his sisters. And one of them is worried about having miscalculated the quantity of cake required for the service. When something unexpected happens towards the end of the service, the result leads to a change in the future plans of the five characters.
As is evident, the problems of the five people are not the same in intensity. But the author approaches each of their situations with equal seriousness, and shifts the narrative baton to each of them in third person so that we see their life from their point of view.
In all honesty, I had no idea what ‘Yom Kippur’ meant. I read up a little about it before beginning this story, and found it an interesting concept – a day to repent for your sins ask for forgiveness. (This reminded me a little of the festival of ‘Paryushan’ celebrated by Jains, which also involves fasting and forgiveness.) At the same time, I loved how the author got one of the characters to say that Yom Kippur should be not just about reflecting on your sins but also for remembering your positive contributions in the last year so that you feel encouraged towards the future. What a lovely thought!
While I liked this story, it didn’t work for me at the same level as the earlier one, partly because the content was a bit too Jewish for my understanding. The author does explain every faith-related idea wherever possible, but to go full-dictionary mode would have obviously broken the spirit of the story. While the first half of the story focusses more on the individual reflections, the second section after the unforeseen event highlights a more unified and cooperative approach. Some incidents in the characters’ reflections weren't to my taste, but this is more a matter of reading preferences than anything problematic in the writing.
4 stars
As you can see, this indie book is definitely worth reading. I enjoyed its uniqueness as much as its content.
Recommended to literary fiction readers who love character-oriented narratives, thought-provoking writing, and a dash of Jewish culture.
4.25 stars, based on the average of my rating for each novella.
My thanks to Guernica Editions and NetGalley for the DRC of “In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
April 3, 2024
These are 2 novellas in one book. I have a lot to say about each one and both together. They're a powerhouse duo. Both of these stories are riveting. They pull you right in like you're there with the characters. These are short stories, and little is said about how characters look or other identifying traits, but you learn what you need to know about them through their thoughts and actions.
The first one, In Sickness and in Health, comes across as the author's first-person narrative, and I only realized it was fiction when the narrator says her name is Lily. It's compelling as if it's completely true. Lily is having unusual health issues that doctors can't figure out. She goes through many flashbacks to her younger years as she navigates this challenge, and it's the kind of universal experience that everyone can relate to even if our challenges are different. Sometimes it's exactly the unusual circumstances that bring out the universality of experience. We're feeling what she's feeling because we've been there, even though it was different.
Yom Kippur in a Gym left me stunned. It's the kind of story you put down and need to process. There's so much going on, and at first it was hard to keep track of each narrator's story. But by the middle you know each one intimately. There's just enough said about each narrator that you know what you need to about what makes them tick. And that's part of the point; different things make different people tick, but there are some things we all need, like validation, friendship, and feeling valuable.
The idea of Yom Kippur in a gym is another crucial point. We live our lives in the mundane, but there are those sparks, like once annually on the holiest day of the year, where we can access more. If you've experienced Yom Kippur and will recognize the liturgy, you'll feel it in your bones. However, I suspect that even if you haven't, you'll still get it; but it may not be as meaningful.
I could go on and on, but you need to read it feel it yourself, because the beauty of how hard it hits is its subtlety. It's given over in incredibly beautiful prose, and the vehicle of fiction to give over profound human ideas hits just the right spot.
Can you tell I loved this book? 5 big stars. I would love to read more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy for review.
The first one, In Sickness and in Health, comes across as the author's first-person narrative, and I only realized it was fiction when the narrator says her name is Lily. It's compelling as if it's completely true. Lily is having unusual health issues that doctors can't figure out. She goes through many flashbacks to her younger years as she navigates this challenge, and it's the kind of universal experience that everyone can relate to even if our challenges are different. Sometimes it's exactly the unusual circumstances that bring out the universality of experience. We're feeling what she's feeling because we've been there, even though it was different.
Yom Kippur in a Gym left me stunned. It's the kind of story you put down and need to process. There's so much going on, and at first it was hard to keep track of each narrator's story. But by the middle you know each one intimately. There's just enough said about each narrator that you know what you need to about what makes them tick. And that's part of the point; different things make different people tick, but there are some things we all need, like validation, friendship, and feeling valuable.
The idea of Yom Kippur in a gym is another crucial point. We live our lives in the mundane, but there are those sparks, like once annually on the holiest day of the year, where we can access more. If you've experienced Yom Kippur and will recognize the liturgy, you'll feel it in your bones. However, I suspect that even if you haven't, you'll still get it; but it may not be as meaningful.
I could go on and on, but you need to read it feel it yourself, because the beauty of how hard it hits is its subtlety. It's given over in incredibly beautiful prose, and the vehicle of fiction to give over profound human ideas hits just the right spot.
Can you tell I loved this book? 5 big stars. I would love to read more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy for review.
March 2, 2024
Happy Publication Day author Nora Gold on your dual Novella In Sickness and In Health and Yom Kippur in a Gym. Thank you to @river_street_writes for my advanced readers copy.
I want to point out that the publication date of this book coincides with the first day of Epilepsy Awareness Month in Canada. I’m not sure if this is a coincidence but I think it’s pretty wonderful that a Novella that has an emphasis on Epilepsy is published today💜!
In todays post I am only reviewing In Sickness and in Health. I was very interested in reading this novella as it is about the life of Lily and her struggles through childhood Epilepsy. Epilepsy is neurological disorder I am very familiar with and is a part of my life as a loved one of mine has Epilepsy. Epilepsy is not something that is typically written about in a fictional story so I was very intrigued to read this story. I must confess this story was a difficult read as it hit close to home. However, it was interesting to see the other side of Epilepsy. Not just the observer and carers perspective but from the perspective of an individual with Epilepsy.
Lily was diagnosed with Epilepsy at the age of three. She recounts how she felt about her “Little Bad” absences as she referred to her seizures. Lily was sure she was a “little bad” as her doctor told her she had “Petite Mal” seizures. And the literal translation is Little Bad. It didn’t help that Lily’s parents referred to her seizures as absences, dreams and attacks. Lilly was confused and didn’t really understand what was happening to her. She felt like her life “was a jigsaw puzzle missing a third of its pieces”. Before medication Lily had 1 absence seizure every minute lasting 20 seconds (today this type of seizure is called a complex partial seizure). Imagine going about your day and suddenly without your awareness time stops for you yet continues for everyone else. Once Lily started medication her seizures stopped but she felt like a clumsy zombie. After a few years Lily was able to stop medication and she felt a return to normal. But sadly in grade 4 her epilepsy reappeared and progressed to Grand Mal Seizures (aka Tonic-clinic seizures) and she was once again medicated. Lily referred to the next three years of her life as “dead years” in which she had no memories and felt like a drugged robot.
I could go on and on about Lily’s life and this story but I think it’s best you read the story yourself. This is the first Novella I’ve read by Nora Gold and I loved her metaphorical writing style. I also appreciate how accurate her descriptions of seizures, medications and living life with epilepsy are. Makes me wonder what her connection might be to this Neurological disorder?
I’ll end off with one last comment. It saddens me that Lily felt shame and self-loathing because she had epilepsy. She felt like she was “bad” and “abnormal” because she had Epilepsy. If I could talk to Lily as a little girl, I’d tell her that Epilepsy is a part of her but it is not all of her nor does it define her. It is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. To be proud of who she is, a sweet, smart, courageous and confident little girl.
I want to point out that the publication date of this book coincides with the first day of Epilepsy Awareness Month in Canada. I’m not sure if this is a coincidence but I think it’s pretty wonderful that a Novella that has an emphasis on Epilepsy is published today💜!
In todays post I am only reviewing In Sickness and in Health. I was very interested in reading this novella as it is about the life of Lily and her struggles through childhood Epilepsy. Epilepsy is neurological disorder I am very familiar with and is a part of my life as a loved one of mine has Epilepsy. Epilepsy is not something that is typically written about in a fictional story so I was very intrigued to read this story. I must confess this story was a difficult read as it hit close to home. However, it was interesting to see the other side of Epilepsy. Not just the observer and carers perspective but from the perspective of an individual with Epilepsy.
Lily was diagnosed with Epilepsy at the age of three. She recounts how she felt about her “Little Bad” absences as she referred to her seizures. Lily was sure she was a “little bad” as her doctor told her she had “Petite Mal” seizures. And the literal translation is Little Bad. It didn’t help that Lily’s parents referred to her seizures as absences, dreams and attacks. Lilly was confused and didn’t really understand what was happening to her. She felt like her life “was a jigsaw puzzle missing a third of its pieces”. Before medication Lily had 1 absence seizure every minute lasting 20 seconds (today this type of seizure is called a complex partial seizure). Imagine going about your day and suddenly without your awareness time stops for you yet continues for everyone else. Once Lily started medication her seizures stopped but she felt like a clumsy zombie. After a few years Lily was able to stop medication and she felt a return to normal. But sadly in grade 4 her epilepsy reappeared and progressed to Grand Mal Seizures (aka Tonic-clinic seizures) and she was once again medicated. Lily referred to the next three years of her life as “dead years” in which she had no memories and felt like a drugged robot.
I could go on and on about Lily’s life and this story but I think it’s best you read the story yourself. This is the first Novella I’ve read by Nora Gold and I loved her metaphorical writing style. I also appreciate how accurate her descriptions of seizures, medications and living life with epilepsy are. Makes me wonder what her connection might be to this Neurological disorder?
I’ll end off with one last comment. It saddens me that Lily felt shame and self-loathing because she had epilepsy. She felt like she was “bad” and “abnormal” because she had Epilepsy. If I could talk to Lily as a little girl, I’d tell her that Epilepsy is a part of her but it is not all of her nor does it define her. It is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. To be proud of who she is, a sweet, smart, courageous and confident little girl.
May 5, 2024
3.5
This is such a unique way to split two stories up in one book. The stories are not connected to one another so you don’t have to worry about choosing which one to start first. Both of them were amazing short stories.
In Sickness and In Health (3.5⭐️)
I enjoyed the parts where our main character showed her childhood growing up with epilepsy. At the beginning it was a bit hard to get into it because it felt a bit repetitive. After the first 2-3 chapters is where I started to get interested in the story.
It was heartbreaking to read the struggles Lily had to deal with growing up with epilepsy. The times were different so while trying her best to be good and "normal" she was still looked at as a moron and bad. The way she was viewed as a child and how she was treated, expands into how she deals with illnesses as an adult.
This short novel was an emotional read. I also liked the subtle way it was written depending on if Lily was sick and out of her body or in the present and feeling healthy.
Yom Kippur in the Gym (4⭐️)
Out of the two stories, this is my favorite. I loved the individual character's story and how each of them are dealing with their own problems as they are all gathered in a gym for Yom Kippur.
There were strong themes throughout this novel about forgiveness, happiness and acceptance. I like how in the end, individually they discovered something about their situation. I also liked how they came together at the end with a connection between each of them.
Well paced and another emotional short story, this one stood out to me.
This is such a unique way to split two stories up in one book. The stories are not connected to one another so you don’t have to worry about choosing which one to start first. Both of them were amazing short stories.
In Sickness and In Health (3.5⭐️)
I enjoyed the parts where our main character showed her childhood growing up with epilepsy. At the beginning it was a bit hard to get into it because it felt a bit repetitive. After the first 2-3 chapters is where I started to get interested in the story.
It was heartbreaking to read the struggles Lily had to deal with growing up with epilepsy. The times were different so while trying her best to be good and "normal" she was still looked at as a moron and bad. The way she was viewed as a child and how she was treated, expands into how she deals with illnesses as an adult.
This short novel was an emotional read. I also liked the subtle way it was written depending on if Lily was sick and out of her body or in the present and feeling healthy.
Yom Kippur in the Gym (4⭐️)
Out of the two stories, this is my favorite. I loved the individual character's story and how each of them are dealing with their own problems as they are all gathered in a gym for Yom Kippur.
There were strong themes throughout this novel about forgiveness, happiness and acceptance. I like how in the end, individually they discovered something about their situation. I also liked how they came together at the end with a connection between each of them.
Well paced and another emotional short story, this one stood out to me.
February 12, 2024
Nora Gold is a talented author, and I am delighted to be introduced to her writing. These 2 novellas are powerful enough to stand alone, but luckily for us readers, we get 2 in 1! Nora's prose is both beautiful and flawless. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5
In Sickness and In Health - An unidentified but debilitating chronic illness weighs heavily on our heroine. Her despair is tangible and it is easy to see how the disease impacts her thought process. Reading this novella is exhausting but impactful. It teaches empathy for what people with chronic illness go through.
Yom Kippur in a Gym - As the long Yom Kippur service nears its end, we catch of glimpse into the minds of five people and how the service affects them. I wasn't sure the story would keep my attention, but after a few chapters, I couldn't put it down. This story has positively impacted the way I will experience religious services in the future. Thank you, Nora.
In Sickness and In Health - An unidentified but debilitating chronic illness weighs heavily on our heroine. Her despair is tangible and it is easy to see how the disease impacts her thought process. Reading this novella is exhausting but impactful. It teaches empathy for what people with chronic illness go through.
Yom Kippur in a Gym - As the long Yom Kippur service nears its end, we catch of glimpse into the minds of five people and how the service affects them. I wasn't sure the story would keep my attention, but after a few chapters, I couldn't put it down. This story has positively impacted the way I will experience religious services in the future. Thank you, Nora.
April 27, 2024
3.5 ⭐️/ 3 ⭐️
These two novellas are in a flip book which I found to be very fun!
In Sickness and in Health delved into a world of a mysterious illness and the all encompassing impact it has.
Yom Kippur followed a handle of people brought together in worship and gave glimpses into each of their lives and how they got there.
I found by the end of each I was just getting really into the stories and was finally hooked and wanted more. They were slow burns for me.
Read
April 4, 2024This is a flip book: two very different novellas by the same author, packaged together.
In Sickness and in Health is a memoir of ill health and secrecy, told across time. Yom Kippur in a Gym is, as the title indicates, the story of one pivotal day, the Jewish Day of Atonement, that takes place in a gym in downtown Toronto rather than a synagogue, with 800 people gathered for the ritual. We get to know five of them before, during and after a medical emergency that brings them into close contact. I won't say more than that, except to note that for me this is primarily a story of forgiveness--how hard, and how healing, it can be to forgive. The ending is hopeful in a real-life way that ties their stories up, but not too neatly. I'm still worrying about a couple of the characters.
Well written and definitely worth reading. And as the bagel commercial used to go, "You don't have to be Jewish" to read, enjoy and think about the two novellas.
In Sickness and in Health is a memoir of ill health and secrecy, told across time. Yom Kippur in a Gym is, as the title indicates, the story of one pivotal day, the Jewish Day of Atonement, that takes place in a gym in downtown Toronto rather than a synagogue, with 800 people gathered for the ritual. We get to know five of them before, during and after a medical emergency that brings them into close contact. I won't say more than that, except to note that for me this is primarily a story of forgiveness--how hard, and how healing, it can be to forgive. The ending is hopeful in a real-life way that ties their stories up, but not too neatly. I'm still worrying about a couple of the characters.
Well written and definitely worth reading. And as the bagel commercial used to go, "You don't have to be Jewish" to read, enjoy and think about the two novellas.
April 2, 2024
In Sickness and In Health by Nora Gold is the fictionalized memoir of a woman whose childhood was marked by epilepsy. Traumatized by the embarrassment of her seizures, shunned socially by those afraid of her fits and hampered by dulling medication, Lily struggles to live a “normal” life. Her own mother has informed her that she is “defective” and that epileptics don’t drive, hold down jobs, get married or have children. Despite her mother’s dire predictions about a diminished future life, Lily outgrows her condition, and goes on to lead a rich and full existence. A recurring bout of fatigue suddenly disrupts Lily’s adult equanimity and draws her back into the horrors of her childhood illness, completely unravelling her with unexpected waves of grief and powerlessness. A heart-wrenching narrative that explores the lingering effects of shame in relation to disability, Gold has written an inspiring novella steeped with forgiveness, compassion and love.
February 19, 2024
In Sickness and in Health
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lily is dealing with a chronic illness that no doctor can figure out; it comes and goes. Sometimes Lily feels like a ‘normal’ and sometimes she doesn’t. She’s no stranger to being different than most people because she grew up with epilepsy, during a time period where it wasn’t as widely understood. This is a story that anyone with a chronic illness or a disability can relate to. Not knowing how far to push yourself or when NOT to push, or you know you’ll pay for it. The doubts, guilt, and feeling misunderstood. After all, if you, the person suffering doesn’t understand, how can anyone else?
_______
Yom Kippur in a Gym
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Five strangers are brought together during the Jewish High Holiday, Yom Kippur. Each individual is contemplating aspects of their life as they petition God for forgiveness. I’m not Jewish but I enjoy stories about cultures that are not my own. Compelling and moving, the sentiments about connecting with people around us, had me teary especially near the end. Unknowingly those five people each made the others’ lives better just for having been briefly intertwined. We never know what someone is going through by looking at them.
_______
Both of these novellas are beautifully written and pack a poignant punch. Nora Gold has stunning ability to quickly sink you deep into the experience of another person and stir up sympathy and empathy. 4 stars for both.
Thank you Nora Gold and River Street Writes for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lily is dealing with a chronic illness that no doctor can figure out; it comes and goes. Sometimes Lily feels like a ‘normal’ and sometimes she doesn’t. She’s no stranger to being different than most people because she grew up with epilepsy, during a time period where it wasn’t as widely understood. This is a story that anyone with a chronic illness or a disability can relate to. Not knowing how far to push yourself or when NOT to push, or you know you’ll pay for it. The doubts, guilt, and feeling misunderstood. After all, if you, the person suffering doesn’t understand, how can anyone else?
_______
Yom Kippur in a Gym
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Five strangers are brought together during the Jewish High Holiday, Yom Kippur. Each individual is contemplating aspects of their life as they petition God for forgiveness. I’m not Jewish but I enjoy stories about cultures that are not my own. Compelling and moving, the sentiments about connecting with people around us, had me teary especially near the end. Unknowingly those five people each made the others’ lives better just for having been briefly intertwined. We never know what someone is going through by looking at them.
_______
Both of these novellas are beautifully written and pack a poignant punch. Nora Gold has stunning ability to quickly sink you deep into the experience of another person and stir up sympathy and empathy. 4 stars for both.
Thank you Nora Gold and River Street Writes for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
February 10, 2024
Two novellas in one flip book.
Jewish author Nora Gold has written two quite different stories in this selection. Here are my thoughts on them individually:
In Sickness and In Health - Lily was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child and was told she would never live a “normal” life. She would never drive, she would not likely get married or have children. She has defied all that only to now have a chronic debilitating condition that the doctors can’t figure out. The weight of illness is echoed in the prose of this novella. The reader is given unlimited access to the despair borne out of Lily’s condition and wonders if this time the torture will see her fired from her job. I found this to be a good reflection of chronic illness although a tad drawn out.
Yom Kippur in a Gym - The congregants have been fasting for 24 hours and the Yom Kippur service is nearing its end for another year. Inside a gym packed full of people, the story focuses on five individuals and their experiences both within the gym at the time and what is going on for them in their minds as they consider the prayers and songs delivered. Interestingly the reading time for me was fairly close in time to the countdown contained within the story which heightened my reading experience. I really enjoyed this story for its characters who each had very different lives outside of shul but came together in a moment.
Overall I enjoyed my reading experience of these two novellas. Thank you to River Street Writing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. These novellas publish March 1, 2024.
Jewish author Nora Gold has written two quite different stories in this selection. Here are my thoughts on them individually:
In Sickness and In Health - Lily was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child and was told she would never live a “normal” life. She would never drive, she would not likely get married or have children. She has defied all that only to now have a chronic debilitating condition that the doctors can’t figure out. The weight of illness is echoed in the prose of this novella. The reader is given unlimited access to the despair borne out of Lily’s condition and wonders if this time the torture will see her fired from her job. I found this to be a good reflection of chronic illness although a tad drawn out.
Yom Kippur in a Gym - The congregants have been fasting for 24 hours and the Yom Kippur service is nearing its end for another year. Inside a gym packed full of people, the story focuses on five individuals and their experiences both within the gym at the time and what is going on for them in their minds as they consider the prayers and songs delivered. Interestingly the reading time for me was fairly close in time to the countdown contained within the story which heightened my reading experience. I really enjoyed this story for its characters who each had very different lives outside of shul but came together in a moment.
Overall I enjoyed my reading experience of these two novellas. Thank you to River Street Writing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. These novellas publish March 1, 2024.
January 31, 2024
In Sickness and in Health by Nora Gold
What would it be like to be held hostage to a mysterious, debilitating condition that defies conventional medical explanation and comes and goes unpredictably on its own accord? In her new novella, “In Sickness and in Health”, Nora Gold deep dives into the struggle of her protagonist Lily, who is rendered powerless to walk, talk, eat, and even change out of her sweat-soaked pajamas for days on end.
Gold has a taut, lyrical prose style, and is a master at weaving visceral metaphors to capture the intertwined physical and psychological realms of illness that can leave the sufferers grimly segregated from normal life. Plunging headlong into that theme, the novella begins with the haunting:
"Sickness is foreign country. You are lost there, you don’t know the language, no matter how many times you’ve visited before. Nothing is familiar. You’re alone, but a different kind of alone than usual, because when you’re sick, you don’t have yourself. Your own body has turned against you—it is your enemy now, and no one can fight and try to destroy their own body—so you are defenceless."
The story, broken down into four days of Lily’s life, explores how her punishing bouts of illness have affected her marriage and her job as a graphics art instructor at a local college. Fortunately, her husband Perry loves her unconditionally, with “an easy-going acceptance of her clumsiness” which she sometimes finds impossible to trust as it seems “almost abnormal.”
Her boss however, is not as understanding. Already in a precarious position with him for cancelling classes last minute due to sickness, she is terrified of losing her job not just for the household income, but for the much craved sense of normality. “Having a job means you’re normal. This job of yours is a central pillar of the beautifully normal life you have painstakingly constructed, and without it everything will come crashing down around you like a house of sticks in a storm.”
Despite Lily’s best efforts, this stick house comes crashing down during another feverish bout of illness which rips open a portal in her psyche bringing up long suppressed memories of a time when she was a child with epilepsy— or as she cruelly castigates herself: “A sick little girl. Defective. Second Class.”
Lily’s descent down the rabbit hole into unflinching painful self-examination chronicles the treatment of pediatric epilepsy which at the time was marred by ineffective methods. This included using drugs—including antipsychotics— that rendered the sufferer into a drooling, uncoordinated robot and an educational system ill-equipped to comprehend the nuanced complexities of neurological disorders.
In a particularly harrowing passage, Gold writes about being labelled a moron for failing an outdated diagnostic test in first grade. What is truly heartbreaking is that Lily accepts this label as a cut above the more denigrating mentally retarded or imbecile because it at least offered her a semblance of a normal life:
"But Lily understood enough. Enough to know that she wanted to be a moron: she longed, hoped, yearned—and yes, dreamed—to be a moron, and therefore a “contributing member of society.” She didn’t know what that phrase meant precisely but she could tell from her mother’s voice that it meant not being a completely worthless defective (a favourite word of her mother’s) not being just a useless piece of trash good for nothing but the trash heap."
Through a rollercoaster journey marked by periods of remission and relapses, Lily manages to build a fulfilling adult life, packed with the conventional hallmarks of a successful career, loving family, comfortable home, and even the independence of driving a car, a milestone once deemed unattainable due to her epilepsy.
Yet the question looms: will reconnecting with her younger self be healing, forever liberating Lily from the prison of her illness? Gold lets the novella end with that question unanswered. But the reader is left with a glimmer of hope that she may find longer periods of respite and be finally handed her passport out of the foreign country of sickness.
What would it be like to be held hostage to a mysterious, debilitating condition that defies conventional medical explanation and comes and goes unpredictably on its own accord? In her new novella, “In Sickness and in Health”, Nora Gold deep dives into the struggle of her protagonist Lily, who is rendered powerless to walk, talk, eat, and even change out of her sweat-soaked pajamas for days on end.
Gold has a taut, lyrical prose style, and is a master at weaving visceral metaphors to capture the intertwined physical and psychological realms of illness that can leave the sufferers grimly segregated from normal life. Plunging headlong into that theme, the novella begins with the haunting:
"Sickness is foreign country. You are lost there, you don’t know the language, no matter how many times you’ve visited before. Nothing is familiar. You’re alone, but a different kind of alone than usual, because when you’re sick, you don’t have yourself. Your own body has turned against you—it is your enemy now, and no one can fight and try to destroy their own body—so you are defenceless."
The story, broken down into four days of Lily’s life, explores how her punishing bouts of illness have affected her marriage and her job as a graphics art instructor at a local college. Fortunately, her husband Perry loves her unconditionally, with “an easy-going acceptance of her clumsiness” which she sometimes finds impossible to trust as it seems “almost abnormal.”
Her boss however, is not as understanding. Already in a precarious position with him for cancelling classes last minute due to sickness, she is terrified of losing her job not just for the household income, but for the much craved sense of normality. “Having a job means you’re normal. This job of yours is a central pillar of the beautifully normal life you have painstakingly constructed, and without it everything will come crashing down around you like a house of sticks in a storm.”
Despite Lily’s best efforts, this stick house comes crashing down during another feverish bout of illness which rips open a portal in her psyche bringing up long suppressed memories of a time when she was a child with epilepsy— or as she cruelly castigates herself: “A sick little girl. Defective. Second Class.”
Lily’s descent down the rabbit hole into unflinching painful self-examination chronicles the treatment of pediatric epilepsy which at the time was marred by ineffective methods. This included using drugs—including antipsychotics— that rendered the sufferer into a drooling, uncoordinated robot and an educational system ill-equipped to comprehend the nuanced complexities of neurological disorders.
In a particularly harrowing passage, Gold writes about being labelled a moron for failing an outdated diagnostic test in first grade. What is truly heartbreaking is that Lily accepts this label as a cut above the more denigrating mentally retarded or imbecile because it at least offered her a semblance of a normal life:
"But Lily understood enough. Enough to know that she wanted to be a moron: she longed, hoped, yearned—and yes, dreamed—to be a moron, and therefore a “contributing member of society.” She didn’t know what that phrase meant precisely but she could tell from her mother’s voice that it meant not being a completely worthless defective (a favourite word of her mother’s) not being just a useless piece of trash good for nothing but the trash heap."
Through a rollercoaster journey marked by periods of remission and relapses, Lily manages to build a fulfilling adult life, packed with the conventional hallmarks of a successful career, loving family, comfortable home, and even the independence of driving a car, a milestone once deemed unattainable due to her epilepsy.
Yet the question looms: will reconnecting with her younger self be healing, forever liberating Lily from the prison of her illness? Gold lets the novella end with that question unanswered. But the reader is left with a glimmer of hope that she may find longer periods of respite and be finally handed her passport out of the foreign country of sickness.
June 24, 2024
“In Sickness and in Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym” is a thought-provoking flip book comprising two novellas written by Nora Gold. In the well-structured narrative, “In Sickness and in Health” Nora introduces us to a plausible protagonist, Lily, and her frustrating struggle with epilepsy. Diagnosed with this condition at the age of three, her mother had long predicted how doomed her future would be and that she would never have a normal life.
Many years later, Lily manages to beat these odds and goes ahead to have a family, her kids now in college, and a budding career as an artist. However, a series of recurring and crippling symptoms abruptly throws off Lily’s calm adulthood and transports her back to the horrific experiences of her childhood illness. Her despondency and frustration are palpable, as she attempts to navigate her new norm. She is further plagued by uncertainty as the recurring bouts of illness cast a long shadow on the future of her job and marriage.
In “Yom Kippur in a Gym,” a Jewish service in honor of the ritual of Yom Kippur takes place in a Toronto gym, with many people in attendance. Five strangers, each dealing with personal struggles, are part of the congregation and throughout the service, they reflect upon their past choices and their future lines of action. Ira is contemplating suicide; Lucy has just found out about her husband’s life-altering disease. Rachael is worried about losing her job, while Ezra struggles to come to terms with career ruin because of a mistake he made. Tom, on the other hand, needs to find healing and forgiveness from his estranged relationships with his father and sisters. When an unexpected incident occurs towards the end of the service, their worlds are brought together and are irrevocably changed.
What intrigued me most was the authenticity of the two plots with the writer balancing her character strengths with weaknesses, making them more relatable and endearing to the reader. Resonating with precision, empathy, and intent, the narratives hold out observations into the struggles and triumphs of human existence. Nora writes well, employing the first-person narrative and using clear details to immerse readers into the first tale, which is an emotional odyssey that will tug at your heartstrings. In the second tale, the characters’ lives and inner turmoils are revealed through a series of flashbacks creatively focusing on their perspectives and emotional spheres.
The author employs a perfect blend of banter and drollery to counterbalance the intense emotions in the two tales, which would otherwise wear down some readers. A novel can change the way we see the world and enables us to confront our own ideas about ourselves especially when we have faced or are facing similar situations. “In Sickness and in Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym” does not just offer escapist entertainment but also renders meaningful takeaways that stay with you long after the reading is done. Nora Gold’s double-novella work is neatly done and ultimately a worthy addition to modern literature.
Many years later, Lily manages to beat these odds and goes ahead to have a family, her kids now in college, and a budding career as an artist. However, a series of recurring and crippling symptoms abruptly throws off Lily’s calm adulthood and transports her back to the horrific experiences of her childhood illness. Her despondency and frustration are palpable, as she attempts to navigate her new norm. She is further plagued by uncertainty as the recurring bouts of illness cast a long shadow on the future of her job and marriage.
In “Yom Kippur in a Gym,” a Jewish service in honor of the ritual of Yom Kippur takes place in a Toronto gym, with many people in attendance. Five strangers, each dealing with personal struggles, are part of the congregation and throughout the service, they reflect upon their past choices and their future lines of action. Ira is contemplating suicide; Lucy has just found out about her husband’s life-altering disease. Rachael is worried about losing her job, while Ezra struggles to come to terms with career ruin because of a mistake he made. Tom, on the other hand, needs to find healing and forgiveness from his estranged relationships with his father and sisters. When an unexpected incident occurs towards the end of the service, their worlds are brought together and are irrevocably changed.
What intrigued me most was the authenticity of the two plots with the writer balancing her character strengths with weaknesses, making them more relatable and endearing to the reader. Resonating with precision, empathy, and intent, the narratives hold out observations into the struggles and triumphs of human existence. Nora writes well, employing the first-person narrative and using clear details to immerse readers into the first tale, which is an emotional odyssey that will tug at your heartstrings. In the second tale, the characters’ lives and inner turmoils are revealed through a series of flashbacks creatively focusing on their perspectives and emotional spheres.
The author employs a perfect blend of banter and drollery to counterbalance the intense emotions in the two tales, which would otherwise wear down some readers. A novel can change the way we see the world and enables us to confront our own ideas about ourselves especially when we have faced or are facing similar situations. “In Sickness and in Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym” does not just offer escapist entertainment but also renders meaningful takeaways that stay with you long after the reading is done. Nora Gold’s double-novella work is neatly done and ultimately a worthy addition to modern literature.
December 25, 2023
This book comprises of two unrelated novellas.
In Sickness and In Health is about chronic illness, and oh boy will it resonate with anyone who has a chronic illness - particularly those who have gone their whole lives with doctors throwing their hands up at repeated tests not showing anything wrong. It's visceral and unsympathetic to anyone who might not "get it", and I could see some readers not really appreciating the realism. The narration deviates partway through to a history of the narrator's childhood epilepsy, which distracted me at first but I also found immensely compelling. I don't think the synopsis really accurately fits the story, the drama about the cartoons is a very small component at the end of this story and does not drive the narrative.
Yom Kippur in a Gym takes place in the last hour of a Yom Kippur service and puts us in the mind of half a dozen congregants, all lost in their own thoughts about what the Day of Atonement represents for themselves. I grew up going to Rosh/Yom services in a gym so the visuals definitely hit home! I also connected deeply to the wandering mind of each congregant, trying to tie their thoughts back to the present. I understand why it didn't, because this isn't that sort of book, but I would have liked to see perhaps one more chapter in this story showing the morning after and how firmly decisions have stuck with each of the characters.
On the surface, the two novellas don't really belong together, but I think they are both about introspection and allowing the outside into your life to some extent. My final rating overall is 3.5, rounded up to 4*.
Thank you NetGalley and Guernica Editions for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own!
In Sickness and In Health is about chronic illness, and oh boy will it resonate with anyone who has a chronic illness - particularly those who have gone their whole lives with doctors throwing their hands up at repeated tests not showing anything wrong. It's visceral and unsympathetic to anyone who might not "get it", and I could see some readers not really appreciating the realism. The narration deviates partway through to a history of the narrator's childhood epilepsy, which distracted me at first but I also found immensely compelling. I don't think the synopsis really accurately fits the story, the drama about the cartoons is a very small component at the end of this story and does not drive the narrative.
Yom Kippur in a Gym takes place in the last hour of a Yom Kippur service and puts us in the mind of half a dozen congregants, all lost in their own thoughts about what the Day of Atonement represents for themselves. I grew up going to Rosh/Yom services in a gym so the visuals definitely hit home! I also connected deeply to the wandering mind of each congregant, trying to tie their thoughts back to the present. I understand why it didn't, because this isn't that sort of book, but I would have liked to see perhaps one more chapter in this story showing the morning after and how firmly decisions have stuck with each of the characters.
On the surface, the two novellas don't really belong together, but I think they are both about introspection and allowing the outside into your life to some extent. My final rating overall is 3.5, rounded up to 4*.
Thank you NetGalley and Guernica Editions for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own!
August 17, 2024
3.5 Stars
In Sickness and In Health
This was an interesting read. We follow our main character through her life of being ill and people not believing her. It shows how hard it is to get a diagnosis or having doctors believe you when you tell them you are ill. It’s crazy because they paid less attention to her because she was female. We still see this in healthcare today. I’ve even had it happen to me and I am a nurse and male doctors have disregarded my symptoms and even when I force them to test me and it’s positive they brush it off. (This happened when I told him I had strep throat and he told me I didn’t, I swabbed positive and he tried to rationalize show it could be possible when I didn’t have the “common” symptoms). The wildest part is that our main character has a diagnosis and they still don’t believe her and basically tell her she has mental illness vs. a health issue.
Yom Kippur in a Gym
This was an interesting story as I didn’t quite know what Yom Kippur was but I learned through this story. I liked that we did have different POVs but 5 was almost too much for me to follow. I did actually think the one character was going to shoot everyone but he was actually thinking of ending his own life after they all go home. It just tells us their stories but they all came together for Yom Kippur.
I would recommend these novellas but to a certain group of readers, not to all.
Thank you to River Street Writes and Guernica Editions for the copy.
In Sickness and In Health
This was an interesting read. We follow our main character through her life of being ill and people not believing her. It shows how hard it is to get a diagnosis or having doctors believe you when you tell them you are ill. It’s crazy because they paid less attention to her because she was female. We still see this in healthcare today. I’ve even had it happen to me and I am a nurse and male doctors have disregarded my symptoms and even when I force them to test me and it’s positive they brush it off. (This happened when I told him I had strep throat and he told me I didn’t, I swabbed positive and he tried to rationalize show it could be possible when I didn’t have the “common” symptoms). The wildest part is that our main character has a diagnosis and they still don’t believe her and basically tell her she has mental illness vs. a health issue.
Yom Kippur in a Gym
This was an interesting story as I didn’t quite know what Yom Kippur was but I learned through this story. I liked that we did have different POVs but 5 was almost too much for me to follow. I did actually think the one character was going to shoot everyone but he was actually thinking of ending his own life after they all go home. It just tells us their stories but they all came together for Yom Kippur.
I would recommend these novellas but to a certain group of readers, not to all.
Thank you to River Street Writes and Guernica Editions for the copy.
April 9, 2024
Thank you to the author for this ARC which she was asking for readers to review on FB, and I graciously accepted since they seemed interestingly enough though I usually don't read novellas and especially flip books (turn the book over to get the other one).
The plots of these novellas were stand alones and unrelated.
One side was Yom Kippur In A Gym where it concentrated on five people, both women and men. They all have their issues and downfalls and they reflect on them on the last day of Yom Kippur while in the gym with over 800 people. These 5 people come together in an unexpected way.
3 stars.
In Sickness and In Health was about a 45 year old woman who has epilepsy. I didn't realize it until I read some reviews that it was fictionalized memoir. I didn't like it as much probably because it was sad and she dealt with a lot especially when she was young and didn't know better. Her parents told her that is was sort of a dream having epilepsy and then in school she was told she was retarded. She was an art teacher and she had more bad days than good holed up in her bedroom without being able to do anything. Her husband worked from home and left her food basically.
I hate to give this 2 and ½ stars but I am.
They were both interesting and short reads and overall 3 stars.
The plots of these novellas were stand alones and unrelated.
One side was Yom Kippur In A Gym where it concentrated on five people, both women and men. They all have their issues and downfalls and they reflect on them on the last day of Yom Kippur while in the gym with over 800 people. These 5 people come together in an unexpected way.
3 stars.
In Sickness and In Health was about a 45 year old woman who has epilepsy. I didn't realize it until I read some reviews that it was fictionalized memoir. I didn't like it as much probably because it was sad and she dealt with a lot especially when she was young and didn't know better. Her parents told her that is was sort of a dream having epilepsy and then in school she was told she was retarded. She was an art teacher and she had more bad days than good holed up in her bedroom without being able to do anything. Her husband worked from home and left her food basically.
I hate to give this 2 and ½ stars but I am.
They were both interesting and short reads and overall 3 stars.
February 16, 2025
Dr Nora Gold has won multiple awards for her fiction, and this comes through in her beautiful prose. She is also an activist and the founder of jewishfiction.net who, with depth and humour, writes about the medical patriarchy, suicide, sibling estrangement, chronic illness, shame, childhood epilepsy, grief, the power of sharing secrets, and the rampant stigmatisation of disabilities.
As a writer I appreciated the considered decisions that Dr Gold put into the stories and her background of experience. Both Yom Kippur and In Sickness and In Health plunge us into the complicated lives and the rich tapestry of characters being human. They are masterclasses in how to write deep characters.
If there was anything I’d change about the books, it’s the use of language around suicide in Yom Kippur. Unfortunately, the out-dated term “commit” suicide—rather than die by suicide—is used once. This shouldn’t deter readers, but it may upset those of us affected by suicide. Which goes to show that, even when we’re an expert, we always need a sensitivity reader. (4.5 stars instead of 5)
More on this book: https://writeroutofresidence.com
As a writer I appreciated the considered decisions that Dr Gold put into the stories and her background of experience. Both Yom Kippur and In Sickness and In Health plunge us into the complicated lives and the rich tapestry of characters being human. They are masterclasses in how to write deep characters.
If there was anything I’d change about the books, it’s the use of language around suicide in Yom Kippur. Unfortunately, the out-dated term “commit” suicide—rather than die by suicide—is used once. This shouldn’t deter readers, but it may upset those of us affected by suicide. Which goes to show that, even when we’re an expert, we always need a sensitivity reader. (4.5 stars instead of 5)
More on this book: https://writeroutofresidence.com
March 3, 2024
This is thoughtful, well-crafted literary fiction. Yom Kippur in a Gym gets us inside the heads of participants at a Yom Kippur service, portraying each person's inner struggles on this day of introspection, with compassion and nuance. In Sickness and in Health brings us into the reality of an artist and teacher with a chronic illness, which is at times depressing to read--you really feel the woman's suffering--but ends on a positive upswing (I would have liked a flash of humor from time to time to lighten it up!). Nora Gold did an excellent job.
October 3, 2025
I loved Yom Kippur in a Gym! I started reading it after Kol Nidrei, and couldn't put it down until I'd turned the last page. Nora's keen ability to hone in on the tumult of emotions, thoughts, and associations going on inside her characters' minds is extraordinary. The reader is immersed in the story immediately, finding something familiar and resonant in the characters yet unable to guess in which direction they will take the action. I enjoyed this so much and can't wait to read more of Nora's writing!
March 5, 2024
Every month, her mysterious and undiagnosed sickness rolls around and stays for slightly longer than the previous month. Without a diagnosis, she has no excuse for her absences from work as an art professor, and her boss is just looking for a reason to fire her. Glued to her bed, she wonders if her husband will stay loyal to her even when the sickness takes it all out of her.
review-
4 ⭐️
This book checks all the boxes of the social implications of chronic illness and how that affects mental health. I was emotional reading about this character’s childhood with epilepsy and her undiagnosed disease as an adult.
I did think there would be a smidge more about her relationship with her husband, with the title and all, but the story was focused on Lily’s personal experience with her illnesses, as it should be.
If someone in your life is struggling with a chronic illness and you’d like a peek into what it might be like for them, read this. If you have a chronic illness and want to feel seen, read this. This novella hit the nail on the head, getting every heartbreaking and frustrating detail about what it’s like to have an undiagnosed chronic illness.
Thanks to River Street writes and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
review-
4 ⭐️
This book checks all the boxes of the social implications of chronic illness and how that affects mental health. I was emotional reading about this character’s childhood with epilepsy and her undiagnosed disease as an adult.
I did think there would be a smidge more about her relationship with her husband, with the title and all, but the story was focused on Lily’s personal experience with her illnesses, as it should be.
If someone in your life is struggling with a chronic illness and you’d like a peek into what it might be like for them, read this. If you have a chronic illness and want to feel seen, read this. This novella hit the nail on the head, getting every heartbreaking and frustrating detail about what it’s like to have an undiagnosed chronic illness.
Thanks to River Street writes and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 4, 2024
This flipbook comprises two novellas by the talented author, Nora Gold. Both are excellent.
If you would like to read my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...
If you would like to read my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...
April 23, 2024
I loved the two novellas. Both were completely different. Nora Gold really has mastered the art of character development. After reading her two novellas you really care about her characters and want to spend more time with them.
April 15, 2024
4 for Yom Kippur. 3.5 for in Sickness
arc-unread
April 30, 2024Thank you to Guernica and NetGalley for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
October 3, 2024
Outstanding.
January 1, 2025
I liked Yom Kippur in a gym better than In sickness and in health. I would have liked a different ending to that novella.
Read
April 1, 2024Yom Kippur in a Gym by Nora Gold is a powerful, moving narrative that illuminates the messiness of our lives, while also providing a gentle nudge towards deep healing through kinship and faith. A rich cast of characters, each with their own back story, are brought together during service for Yom Kippur in a local gym. The individuals are all processing serious life-changing situations -- a husband with Parkinson’s, a failed art career, strained family dynamics, guilt and worry. Gold skillfully sketches in the lives of her characters, highlighting the richness of the human condition in terms of friendship, forgiveness, love, and family. When the Rabbi abruptly falls ill, individuals step forward to continue the service. However, their actions do more than invoke closure to a religious ceremony. Led in joyous singing and prayer, they are transformed by the celebration of life itself, and by their place in the greater scheme of things. A beautiful, life-affirming, almost-allegorical work. Highly recommended.
July 29, 2024
Both novellas are beautifully executed. A poignant exploration into the human mind and condition. I especially loved a story told over a short time in Yom Kippur In A Gym. A lovely weaving in and out of streams of consciousness and a surprisingly warmhearted ending. In Sickness and In Health, I appreciated how everything tied together in a direction I wasn’t anticipating.
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