{"title":"S. W. Leicher","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"acts-of-assumption","title":"Acts of Assumption","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn America, we're good at dividing ourselves into tribes--into \"insiders\" and \"outsiders\"--based on race, background and beliefs. But what happens when a person is an outsider within her own tribe? Serach Gottesman, the mathematically-gifted eldest daughter of a rigidly Orthodox Jewish Boro Park family and Paloma Rodriguez, the street-smart Bronx-bred daughter of a neglectful Latina immigrant mother, seek broader vistas within a relationship that is forbidden by both their communities. Love provides them ballast, but they find that some cultural bonds grip tight and some wounds run deep.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS.W. Leicher\u003c\/strong\u003e grew up in the Bronx in a bi-cultural (Latina and Jewish) home. She moved to Manhattan after graduate school and raised her family on the Upper West Side, where she still lives with her husband and two black cats. She spends most of her time writing about social justice issues. ACTS OF ASSUMPTION is her first novel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Love is an earthquake … It overturns all sorts of assumptions,” and from Acts of Assumption‘s opening three-part definition of assumption, S. W. Leicher plays with its mental, physical, and cultural forms, chronicling what brings two women together from very different starting points until they’re wholly taken in by their love for one another. Raised in New York City’s Orthodox Jewish community, Serach knows she’s caught between the women’s roles she feels disconnected from and her love for the rites reserved for men. The daughter of a Colombian single mother, Paloma grew up in the same city, but between her Catholic education and latchkey home life, she’s become street-smart and tough. When their paths converge in an oncology ward, the attraction is instant. Acting on that attraction changes them: Serach moves toward autonomy, and Paloma relaxes into attachment. Navigating their way into a relationship inevitably means unpacking the baggage of their respective religious heritages, childhood experiences, sexualities, and what it means to call each other family. The novel is largely concerned with Serach’s and Paloma’s personal histories and their journey toward each other, but it ends with a coda for Shmuly, Serach’s beloved only brother. Although there’s a persistent interest in the bonds of family, a focus on Shmuly in the closing section gives him the final word in a way that recasts and undercuts the women’s stories. Still, Serach’s and Paloma’s voices are so imminently engaging and alive that witnessing their well-being seems imperative. In its broad strokes, Acts of Assumption traffics in familiar material, covering many of the expected beats. But in one aspect, the novel makes a radical departure: it always assumes Serach’s and Paloma’s wholeness, despite the toll of living against expectation, and their right to a happy ending—together. ~ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eForeword Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, January\/February 2019\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Twisted Road Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41681184620694,"sku":"9781940189222","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_73603242-47ee-48ba-bdf8-9427e046eb9d.jpg?v=1650377920"},{"product_id":"acts-of-atonement","title":"Acts of Atonement","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSecond in a two-book series on the rewards—and the price—of rebellion. Serach Gottesman—the sheltered but headstrong daughter of a rigidly Ultra-Orthodox Jewish family and Paloma Rodriguez—the tough, ambitious daughter of an even tougher Latina immigrant mother, meet in the first book and (unable to resist one another) launch a forbidden romance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe story now picks up ten years later. Successfully pursuing their careers, ensconced in their big Flatbush Victorian home, delighting in the city's diverse riches, hobnobbing with famous musicians—they've built a loving and satisfying life for themselves. Serach has made peace with all that she's had to sacrifice—her faith, her old neighborhood, her beloved baby brother—to follow the path that she's chosen. Paloma has become highly adept at deflecting her older brother's resentment (and her own guilt) at how far she's come since leaving the South Bronx behind her.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd then things happen. An unexpected death. A seductive opportunity. A reckoning over childrearing approaches. A brutal crime. An even more brutal arrest. And all those hard-won balances shift.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eActs of Atonement\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis a quintessential New York City novel (with a couple of side trips to Jerusalem). It illuminates two arch-typically urban communities—Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn and immigrant Latina Bronx. It zeroes in on a particular lesbian couple in a particular part of town. The questions it raises, however, are universal:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn a society of robustly insular tribalism, can anyone fully escape the pull of what they've grown up with?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn a time of dazzling multi-culturalism, can anyone totally ignore the allure of competing worldviews?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn a country that persistently brands certain groups as outsiders, can those outsiders ever truly receive fair treatment?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCan two born rule-breakers—no matter how initially smitten—live long-term within the confines and expectations of a permanent partnership?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eActs of Atonement\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e asks how far any of us is willing to go to sustain love, to reclaim a heritage, to achieve justice—to stay true to our complicated selves.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS.W. Leicher\u003c\/strong\u003e grew up in the Bronx in a bi-cultural (Latina and Jewish) home. She moved to Manhattan after graduate school and raised her family on the Upper West Side, where she still lives with her husband and two black cats. When not dreaming up fiction, she writes about social justice issues for nonprofit organizations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"S.W. Leicher has produced a compelling, engaging, and fast-paced narrative that offers masterful insights into New York City's social and ethnic diversity and its criminal justice system.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eJules Stewart, Author of Policing the Big Apple: The Story of the NYPD\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A book that proves just how vibrant and connected the lives of New Yorkers are.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eSonia Manzano, Author of Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx, Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for her portrayal of Maria on Sesame Street\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Twisted Road Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41681185276054,"sku":"9781940189307","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_e5c9081a-54ba-434f-ad69-f3f6adef09c1.jpg?v=1650377932"}],"url":"https:\/\/itascabooks.com\/collections\/s-w-leicher.oembed","provider":"Itasca Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}