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Epilogue
Epilogue
It was a perfect Sunday afternoon for the annual Ojai wine festival at Lake Casitas. Anna and Nate had attended the event every June since they were married. Three years ago, they were joined by their baby daughter Melody, making the event a special Braverman family outing.
From the time Melody was six months old, she was completely mesmerized by the live performances. Melody’s little feet began dancing to the music even before she could walk. When she was older, she would kick and squirm in time to the music, creating quite a show for any passerby to admire.
This year, instead of being confined in a stroller, Nate held Melody in his lap. Anna sat on the blanket next to them, sipping wine while they waited for the next show to beg
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Vashti's Daughter Acknowledgements and References
Jessica Price -Why Can’t Vashti And Esther Both Be Purim Heroines? Alma.com, March 2019Walter Semkiw, MD, - Author - Born Again: Reincarnation Cases Involving Evidence of Past Lives, Cases Researched by Ian Stevenson, MD – President Board of Directors of the Reincarnation ResearchProfessor Jim B. Tucker, M.D. is Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is Director of the UVA Division of Perceptual Studies - Author - Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives Michelle W. Malkin, MPA, MAJNM - What does it mean to me to be Jewish?Michael Shapiro – Author - Jewish Pride: 101 Reasons to Be Proud You're Jewis
Vashti's Daughter Forward
Every year in February, the Hebrew month of Adar 14, Jews commemorate being saved from annihilation by King Ahasuerus of Shushan by celebrating the holiday of Purim and reading the Magillah scroll that tells the story of the heroic deeds of Queen Esther.But before Esther, there was Vashti, the king’s first wife. Her defiance of his order to debase herself for the amusement of his cronies led to her being banished. This paved the way for Esther to take her place as Queen and become exalted as a heroine of her time.While Vashti was never heard from again.What became of this defiant woman? What was her true motivation for defying the king’s order? Throughout the centuries, Vashti has been both vilified and praised. She’s either the bitch of the land, or the first Feminist. The argument has been raging for decades.Vashti’s Daughter definitively ends the debate.At some future time twenty-nine year old
Vashti's Daughter Chapter One
At some future time Anna Steine, President of Steine & Steine Publishers would remember it was exactly 2:18 on a Friday afternoon in March when she returned to her office after a relatively uneventful lunch with her editorial staff to find two items on her desk. One, she was delighted to see, was an invitation to her best friend Elaine Levine’s annual Purim party. The other was a plain brown package which solicited the exact opposite reaction. Even before she touched the package, Anna knew by the size and shape, exactly what it contained, and she was furious. “JANET”, Anna screamed into the intercom. “Come into my office, NOW!” In under three seconds, Anna’s executive assistant was standing in front of her desk, visibly shaken. “How did THIS get on my desk?” Anna handed the package to Janet and pointed to the one hand-written line printed in large blue script on the front. Vashti’s Daughter by Nathaniel Braverman, Ph.D. “Did you put it here?” “No, Anna. I’ve never seen it befor
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Three
“Look, she’s standing right behind you!” Anna shouted at Shifra, but when she turned around, there wasn’t anyone there. “I don’t understand this. A woman dressed as the Justice Tarot card was standing right behind you. I’ve been seeing her all night. I’m going to ask Elaine. Thanks for the reading, it was a bit more than I expected.” “Life always is.” Anna left the table and found Elaine refilling the wineglasses. She took hold of her friend’s arm and pulled her aside. “Elaine, I just had my cards read. That woman I’ve been seeing all night is dressed in a Justice cost
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Two
When Anna arrived at Elaine’s Beverly Hills home, the smells of traditional Jewish food reached her nose a mere seconds before the sounds of music and laughter reached her ears. Even when they were in high school, Elaine was notorious for throwing the best parties, and Anna was very happy that her friend hadn’t lost her touch. Elaine was busy handing out greggers and other assorted noise makers, and was just able to raise her hand in a hello, which Anna returned momentarily before Elaine went back to her party guests. As Anna predicted, the women were adorned in the festive garb of Queen Esther, and then men wore robes and tunics. There was plenty of wine and plates piled high with the three corned Hamantashen cookies, filled with every fruit imaginable. There were prune, peach, cherry, and even chocolate. More plates with corned beef and pastrami on rye, sour pickles and a huge bowl of pickled herring in sour cream and, of course a huge mountain of bagels, platters of lox
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Four
When Anna opened her eyes, she was very relieved to see the familiar surroundings of Elaine’s guest room. “Thank God!” she said out loud. Anna could smell fresh coffee coming from the kitchen, and she knew she needed at least three cups to clear her head from that strange dream she had just awoken from. Looking at the bedside clock, she was happy to see that her girlfriend had let her sleep until nearly noon. She decided she needed the coffee more than she needed a shower. She got dressed and went into the kitchen where Elaine, looking as if she had only just woken up herself, was on the phone. When she saw Anna, she motioned to the coffee and the left-over bagels. Anna helped herself, just as Elaine finished her call. “That was the cleaning
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Five
Another dream.Anna was in a field of summer flowers and tall grass. She could hear children laughing and singing somewhere in the distance. She turned her head toward the sound. It was all so vivid she could actually smell the fragrance of the petals, and feel the cool grass between her naked toes. Although she wasn’t in the habit of lucid dreaming, Anna was quite aware she was doing just that, as she heard her voice say out loud. “This is definitely a dream.” Looking down at her body, she was shocked to see that she was shorter than the last time she was in dreamland. Judging by the sound of her voice, a great deal younger as well. She’d read a great deal about lucid dreams and in none of the books did she even remember anyone dreaming they were a younger version of themselves. “I guess this i
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Six
“What the hell?” Anna shouted at her hand, that was now holding the annoying and persistent manuscript. “I thought Janet told me security threw this away. All right Dr. Braverman, whoever you are, you win. I’ll read your book, but not until after I finish eating this weird dinner.” Anna was very surprised how much she enjoyed the meal and added the restaurant’s app to her favorite’s list. After putting the dishes in the washer and the leftovers into the refrigerator, Anna changed into her lounging clothes and made herself comfortable on the couch with a refilled glass of wine in one hand and the manuscript in the other. She was still annoyed at the audacity of the author, but she also had to admire him for his persistence. Perhaps her curiosity was overcoming her stubbornness, Anna thought. She r
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- Vashti's Daughter Acknowledgements and References
- Vashti's Daughter Epilogue
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Six
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Five
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Four
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Three
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Two
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-One
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty
