Dear Safranim, Hoping this finds everyone well. Not to be taken lightly these days.
We're working on a wonderful Mother's Day book that may be of interest to many of you. Ronit Plank's memoir, WHEN SHE COMES BACK, publishes May 11. This may be the first book by a daughter to lose her mother to the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult. It's a searingly honest, vulnerable and indelible rendering of a profoundly universal tale that veers from a kibbutz in Israel to Seattle, from the Newark housing projects to Flushing, Murray Hill and Oregon. Ronit's 2018 piece, *I Can't Shake the Guru Bhagwan* was one of the most-read *Rumpus* posts of the year. A fixture in the headlines of the early eighties, the orange-clad, New Age religious community won its place in the history books when it became a bio-weapons manufacturer. If you saw WILD WILD COUNTRY two years ago on Netflix, or remember the guru with the ninety three Rolls Royces - same dudes. In a curious piece of timing, Netflix drops its sequel, Searching for Sheela <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.netflix.com/il-en/title/81211264__;!!KGKeukY!gcgzyixaNugNnoD74ZJcmYC1bzmbOc5QbbKDMmvjGJDK7S4Tg1_CvEaapMv5GqadsAY$ > tomorrow, and in addition to the documentary, a narrative feature is in the works from Amazon Studios. <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.indiewire.com/2020/02/sheela-wild-wild-country-movie-1202212471/__;!!KGKeukY!gcgzyixaNugNnoD74ZJcmYC1bzmbOc5QbbKDMmvjGJDK7S4Tg1_CvEaapMv5T-Bo_p8$ > “Sheela” will star Priyanka Chopra and will be directed by Barry Levinson. None of us, it seems, can shake the guru Bhagwan. Aspen Matis, bestselling author of *Your** Blue Is Not My Blue* *(Little A) *calls Ronit’s memoir: "*A beautifully written and wrenching story of abandonment and resilience, When She Comes Back grabbed me by the heart.”* Erica Barnett, author of *Quitter (Viking), says:* “ *Empathetic, richly detailed, and self-aware, When She Comes Back is a heartbreaking, hopeful story about loss, resilience, and growing up too soon.”* Plank has written for the *The Atlantic,* *The Washington Post, The Rumpus* , *The Iowa Review*, and *American Literary Review* among others. This is her first book. Her short story collection *Home Is A Made-Up Place* won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022. Her 2018 piece, *I Can't Shake the Guru Bhagwan* was one of the most-read *Rumpus* posts of the year. Ronit also hosts the podcast *And Then Everything Changed *to highlight the lives of people who have survived hardship, trauma or pain and have made it their mission to help others find their way. Jon Gray <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://gray318.com/__;!!KGKeukY!gcgzyixaNugNnoD74ZJcmYC1bzmbOc5QbbKDMmvjGJDK7S4Tg1_CvEaapMv5cabiijQ$ > who designs covers for Zadie Smith, Sally Rooney and Jonathan Safran Foer has created an indelible cover. Please let me know if you'd be interested in featuring Ronit in your forthcoming programming or reading a review copy of the book. Warmest, Suzanne Suzanne Balaban President BMM Worldwide 757 Third Avenue 20th Floor New York, NY 10017 212 796 5895 suza...@bmmworldwide.com
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.osu.edu https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
