Petals

Yael Mermelstein manages to mine the extraordinary out of the ordinary, lending a unique richness to the daily lives we all lead. There's something for every age, stage and mood in the pages of this book, which includes both published and never before published materials.

Stories as varied as the flowers that adorn the earth!

In the Rose section you will read about love: a daughter desperately seeking her parents' approval of her husband, an overweight man seeking his match, and more.

In the Anemone stories a woman struggles to live with guilt, and a recent returnee to Judaism battles to prevent her family from "pulling the plug" on her dear aunt who is in a coma.

The Daisy section, where childhood and innocence abound, includes, among others, the story of a Rabbi Akiva-like janitor learning Torah with the children in the school he cleans.

And if Sunflowers make you smile, the octogenarian planning his own funeral where he intends to be very much alive might just make you laugh out loud.

Once you have had your fill of fiction, the Aster and Kalanit sections, symbolizing patience and perseverance, offer personal essays and select poems about the author's experiences raising her children and living in Eretz Yisrael.

Finally, enjoy Free Fall, a novelette length story where you can read about the unbreakable bond between sisters, a broken marriage, a runaway teen and an inconceivable secret.