A Collection Inspired by True Stories of the Jewish Immigrant Experience
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Jewish immigrant experience in early twentieth-century America. This
collection of linked short stories follows individuals who faced the
uncertainty of a new land, summoned the courage to navigate unfamiliar
cultures, and endured the antisemitism that shaped their world.
While fictionalized, these narratives were inspired by interviews with
Americans who shared memories of their immigrant ancestors. Their stories
unfold against the backdrop of sweeping historical events, such as the Great
Depression, World War II, the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of
Israel.
Poignant and powerful, Almost There illuminates a pivotal chapter in American
history and speaks to the timeless search for belonging, identity, and home.
EXCERPT
“The dress is not for me,” Malka began, “it’s for Yossie.”
“I took your measurements yesterday, not Yossie’s,” Ingrid said.
Malka knew it was a joke, but she did not laugh.
“He spends all of his time at Ricky’s. That’s his best friend. And even though I ask him to bring Ricky to our house, he never does. I tempt him with rugelach. He used to like rugelach. But he never brings anyone home to meet me. And when Dziga asks him to help in the store, Yossie always has an excuse.” Was she complaining too much? Should she be sharing this with a Christian woman, someone she hardly knew? It didn’t feel right and yet she could think of no other way to get her dress.
“And a dress will make him come home after school?” Ingrid asked. “And help in the store?”
“He doesn’t even come home for supper. I make noodle kugel, his favorite food, but it doesn’t matter. If we were in Pilzno, he would come home for supper.”
“You’re not in Pilzno, Mrs. Godowsky,” Ingrid said.
“Oh, don’t I know that.” And Malka told Ingrid how she and Yossie had lived in Pilzno for three years without Dziga, how Dziga had gone to America to work until he could send for them.
“Yossie looked to me for everything then,” she said, “while I wondered why it was taking so long. After a while, I forgot what Dziga looked like, so I remembered him by looking at Yossie: the same big eyes and full lips. When Yossie smiled, it was as if all of the sadness in my life went away. We were so close . . . and now . . .”
“And now, you’re afraid of losing him.” Ingrid finished Malka’s sentence.
“Yes, that’s it, Mrs. Einarsson, I’m afraid . . . so afraid . . . of losing him.” She shook as she tried to pick up her coffee cup, then gave up when she feared she would drop it. She had never confessed this to anyone, especially not to Dziga, who worked so many hours he had little time for his children. To Dziga, this would be a trifle. That Ingrid understood seemed a miracle.
“He never brings anyone home, like he’s . . . I just don’t know.” She paused. “But if he could see me in a beautiful dress, the flowered one . . . if he could be proud of how I look, he would come back to me.” She fixed her eyes on the scratches that marred the dark surface of the table.
“It’s a terrible thing to lose a son,” Ingrid said. “Why, my own son, my Ernie, he’s . . . well, never mind.”
About the Author
Award-winning writer Jean Seager graduated from the University of California,
Berkeley, and received two graduate degrees from San Diego State University.
Her writing has appeared in the
literary publications Mikrokosmos and The Long Story. In 2018, her story
“The Award” won second place in the San Diego Public
Library’s short story contest.
A granddaughter of Jewish immigrants who came to America from eastern Europe
in the early twentieth century, Jean was fascinated by her mother’s
stories of growing up as a second-generation immigrant in Tennessee’s
tobacco country. The Jewish immigrant experience continued to intrigue her and
became the catalyst for her writing.
Jean is a native Californian and long-time resident of Coronado, a suburb of
San Diego, where she lives with her husband Bill.
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