Its rare to read a book, fall in love with it and have the opportunity to meet the author. I had such an experience with "A Different Kind Of Light" by Nancy Wassner. I met Nancy back in April and during our first conversation she told me she had written a book about her year in Israel on the Young Judaea program, Year Course. Having grown up in Young Judaea (the youth group and the summer camps) I was immediately intrigued.
After much begging, Nancy allowed me to read a copy of her book. I brought "A Different Kind Of Light" with me on my most recent trip to Miami and I devoured it in one sitting. Having been on a Young Judaea Israel program myself, I could easily relate to the people, places and things Nancy was describing. She took me right back to those cities, restaurants and youth hostels.
"A Different Kind Of Light" is much more than a trip down memory lane. Nancy is an absolutely beautiful writer. Her descriptions allow you to smell the cigarettes, taste the zatar, see the brightly colored spices in the shuk and feel the rain in your socks. In a story about a boy with whom she has grown close, she writes:
"I put my head on his shoulder and he smacked my forehead with a kiss. Harvey always smelled of stale tobacco and perfumed Israeli hair cream and burnt coffee. I wondered if I was beginning to carry that scent too."
In addition to her powerful descriptors, Nancy also shares poignant stories. In my favorite passage in the book she shares a story about the people of the city of Tiberias as they struggle to cope with the disappearance of a young man from their community. She writes:
"Tiberias is filled with Adi's family, with his friends. Tiberias rioted that night in the streets downtown because Adi was gone and the city felt helpless to get him back. They tried to burn the stone mosque on the boardwalk, left over and empty from the days of the Turkish rule. There are no Muslims in Tiberias now, have not been for many years. But today on my way to the shuk I pass the mosque and see the scorch marks on its walls. The police had to tear gas the crowd that night. I wonder who was crying before the police even arrived."
This story is one of fifteen stories, each with their own chapter. My favorite full chapter in the book is called "American on the Roadside" which details Nancy's participation as a wounded victim in an Israeli army practice drill. I was literally laughing out the loud with every sentence.
For those readers who grew up in Young Judaea or went on Year Course (you know who you are) "A Different Kind Of Light" is a poetic time capsule. You may also be interested to know that all profits from the sale of this book are donated to the Trevor Morton Year Course scholarship fund.
Thank you, Nancy, for sharing your work with me and for transporting me back to some of the happiest times in my life.
