People of the Book

Meryl Ain
  • 5.0 (4)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

On People of the Book, award-winning author Meryl Ain chats with notable authors, and brings you the best in books with Jewish content. From novels to memoirs to short stories to scholarly tomes, we cover a wide range of reads. Our freewheeling conversations are thought provoking and intimate. They span historical themes, contemporary issues, the writing process, and the influences that inspire and empower writers to tell their stories and share them with the world.

  1. REMEMBER TO EAT AND OTHER STORIES: Meryl Ain in conversation with Stewart Ain and Randi Brenowitz

    FEB 12

    REMEMBER TO EAT AND OTHER STORIES: Meryl Ain in conversation with Stewart Ain and Randi Brenowitz

    Meryl Ain is a writer, author, podcaster, and career educator. Her newest book, Remember to Eat and Other Stories was published in January. She is also the author of two award-winning novels, The Takeaway Men (2020) and Shadows We Carry (2023., The host of the podcast People of the Book, she is also the founder of the Facebook group Jews Love to Read! The group currently has more than 6,100 members. Randi Brenowitz is the immediate past International President of the Melton School for Adult Jewish Learning and has been involved in Jewish learning and philanthropy her entire adult life. She is a retired Human Resources/Organization Development consultant, avid reader and an early and active member of our Facebook group, Jews Love to Read! She lives in Palo Alto, CA with her husband, writer and psychotherapist, Dr. Marty Klein. Stewart is an award-winning journalist and was a Pulitzer Prize nominee three times. He has worked for The Forward, The New York Times, New York Daily News, Long Island Business News, the New York Jewish Week, and the LI Jewish World. He hosts his own weekly cable TV program, Jewish Life. He is married to Meryl and they have three sons and six grandchildren. Meryl’s website: merylain.com/Jews Love To Read! www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744People of the Book: www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAinFacebook: www.facebook.com/meryl.ain.9/Facebook Author Page: facebook.com/MerylAinAuthor/Amazon: a.co/d/ec5DbXn Copyright by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network#AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #PeopleOfTheBook #PeopleOfTheBookPodcast #Podcast #MerylAin #RandiBrenowitz #StewartAin #RememberToEat #ShortStories #RememberToEatAndOtherStories #Marjorie #Alice #TheGreatestGeneration #WWII #WomensArmyCorps #WAC #FamilyCircle #BabyBoomers #WomensRights #ChangingRoleOfWomen #TheSixties #TheSeventies #Antisemitism #CovidPandemic #TheHolocaust #Ancestry #AfterTheHolocaust #ShadowsWeCarry #TheTakeawayMen #MeltonSchoolForAdultJewishLearning #MerylAin #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead

    30 min
  2. Jeff Weiss: FIGHTING BACK, Stan Andrews and the Birth of the Israeli Air Force

    12/18/2025

    Jeff Weiss: FIGHTING BACK, Stan Andrews and the Birth of the Israeli Air Force

    Meryl chats with Jeff Weiss about his book, Fighting Back: Stan Andrews and the Birth of the Israeli Air Force, which he co-wrote with his brother, Craig Weiss. The book tells the story of Stan Andrews, an assimilated American Jew and World War II veteran, who became one of the first fighter pilots in the history of the Israeli Air Force. Jeff Weiss is the co-author of Fighting Back: Stan Andrews and the birth of the Israeli Air Force, and also I Am My Brother’s Keeper: American Volunteers in Israel’s War for Independence. He is featured in the 2014 Nancy Spielberg documentary “Above and Beyond” about American members of the Israel Air Force in 1948. He’s also the author of Racing Against Time, a 2025 fitness memoir. In addition to undergraduate and law degrees, Jeff holds Master’s degrees in International Law (Georgetown University Law Center) and in Biotechnology (Johns Hopkins University). He made Aliyah in 2022 and lives in Tel Aviv. Website: www.fightingback.com/ Amazon: a.co/d/3gGjlti Website: merylain.com/www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAinfacebook.com/MerylAinAuthor/www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744 Copyright by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network#AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #JeffWeiss #JeffreyWeiss #CraigWeiss #StanAndrews #FightingBack #1948 #IsraeliAirForce #TheBirthOfTheIsraeliAirForce #IsraelWarOfIndependence #TheJewishPeople #WWII #IsraelDefenseForces #AmericanJewsAndIsrael #JewishObservance #Antisemitism #ResearchProcess #Israel #October7 #HostageRelease #Trauma #StickersOfMeaning #VolunteerSpiritInIsrael #Community #UnitedStates #AboveAndBeyond #NancySpielberg #NaomiShemer #JewishIdentity #IAmMyBrothersKeeper #RacingAgainstTime #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #ShadowsWeCarry #RememberToEat #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead!

    34 min
  3. Encore Presentation: Alex Kor: A Blessing, Not a Burden, a memoir from the child of two Holocaust survivors

    11/20/2025

    Encore Presentation: Alex Kor: A Blessing, Not a Burden, a memoir from the child of two Holocaust survivors

    Meryl chats with Alex Kor about his 2024 memoir, A Blessing, Not a Burden, which chronicles his incredible journey as the child of two Holocaust survivors to his present day mission of keeping alive his parents’ legacy. They also discuss his mother’s controversial decision, as a Mengele twin, to forgive the Nazis. Originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, Alex Kor is the son of two Holocaust survivors, Eva Mozes Kor and her husband, Michael. Alex holds a BS in Chemistry, an MS in Exercise Physiology, and a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. A full-time podiatrist, he is a member of the CANDLES HOLOCAUST MUSEUM BOARD OF DIRECTORS. His memoir, A Blessing, Not a Burden, was published in May 2024. Guest’s Website and Social Media links:Amazon: ⁠a.co/d/fuNHN7T⁠Author Website: ⁠www.myholocaustlegacy.com/⁠Pediment Publishing: ⁠www.pediment.com/⁠People of the Book is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio NetworkWebsite: merylain.com/⁠#AuthorsOnTheAir⁠ ⁠#AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork⁠ ⁠#AOTA⁠ ⁠#PeopleOfTheBookPodcastWithMerylAin

    32 min
  4. Sharon Gloger Friedman: THE OTHER EMMA

    10/23/2025

    Sharon Gloger Friedman: THE OTHER EMMA

    Meryl chats with Sharon Gloger Friedman about historical fiction, and her recently released novel, The Other Emma. Set in the Gilded Age, a young girl assumes the identity of her wealthy adopted sister when she perishes in the Blizzard of 1888. The novel chronicles Rose’s journey from the despair of the tenements to the mansions of Fifth Avenue complicated by the weight of deception. Sharon was born and raised in South Florida and now lives in Georgia with her husband. A former English teacher who left the classroom to raise her daughter and son, she found a new career as a freelance writer and copy editor. This is Sharon’s third novel. Her first novel, Ashes, is the 2019 winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Historical Fiction. Her second novel, In Freedom’s Light, takes place in eighteenth and nineteenth century Charleston and Philadelphia Facebook: www.facebook.com/SharonglogerfriedmanauthorTwitter: mobile.twitter.com/friedman_sharonLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-gloger…iedman-a1046714/Website: www.sharonglogerfriedman.com People of the Book is a copyrighted work of Meryl Ain and Authors on The Air Global Radio Network. Website: merylain.com/Jews Love To Read! www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744 #AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #SharonGlogerFriedman #HistoricalFiction #WritingProcess #TheOtherEmma #Rose #TheGildedAge #TheBlizzardOf1888 #FifthAvenue #Prostitution #Ashes #InFreedomsLight #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #ShadowsWeCarry #RememberToEat #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead

    23 min
  5. Kitty Zeldis: ONE OF THEM

    09/11/2025

    Kitty Zeldis: ONE OF THEM

    Meryl chats with Kitty Zeldis about her new novel, One of Them, a story about two young women at Vassar in the years after World War II. It is a tale of secrets and lies, the knotty question of Jewish identity, and the complicated relationship of mothers and daughters. Born in Israel, Kitty Zeldis is the pen name of a Brooklyn-based author of nine novels and more than 35 books for children. Her new historical novel, One of Them, was just published. Her fiction, essays and articles have appeared in numerous national and literary publications including the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle and O, the Oprah Magazine. She is the Fiction Editor of Lilith Magazine and lives in Brooklyn. Facebook: www.facebook.com/kittyzeldisInstagram: www.instagram.com/kittyzeldis On People of the Book, award-winning author Meryl Ain chats with notable authors, and brings you the best in books with Jewish content. From novels to memoirs to short stories to scholarly tomes, we cover a wide range of reads. Our freewheeling conversations are thought provoking and intimate. They span historical themes, contemporary issues, the writing process, and the influences that inspire and empower writers to tell their stories and share them with the world. Meryl is the award-winning author of The Takeaway Men, a post-Holocaust novel, and the sequel, Shadows We Carry. Her new collection of short stories, Remember to Eat, will be published in January 2026. She is also the founder of the Facebook group, Jews Love To Read!People of the Book is a copyrighted work © of Meryl Ain and Authors on The Air Global Radio Network. Website: merylain.com/www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAinfacebook.com/MerylAinAuthor/www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744 Copyright by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network#AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #KittyZeldis #OneOfThem #PostWorldWarII #Vassar #Poughkeepsie #Antisemitism #WASPCulture #Manhattan #Paris #Palestine #Kibbutz #SecretsAndLies #MotherDaughterRelationship #JewishIdentity #WritingProcess #LilithMagazine #HistoricalFiction #ReligiousPersecution #Prejudice #TheDressmakersOfProspectHeights #NotOurKind #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #Sequel #ShadowsWeCarry #RememberToEat #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead

    34 min
  6. AJ Sidransky on his new memoir: PLUMS, PAPRIKA, AND GHOSTS

    07/24/2025

    AJ Sidransky on his new memoir: PLUMS, PAPRIKA, AND GHOSTS

    Meryl chats with A.J. Sidransky about his new memoir, Plums, Paprika & Ghosts. It’s a chronicle of the trip he took with his 27-year-old-son Jake to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, to discover their family roots. This “life changing” journey provided answers, as well as new questions, about their ancestors’ experience there for 300 years, and their fate during The Holocaust. AJ Sidransky is the author of numerous mystery, thriller, and historical fiction books, including Forgiving Maximo Rothman, The Interpreter, and Incident at San Miguel. His newest work, Plums, Paprika & Ghosts, is a memoir about his pilgrimage with his son, Jake, to his grandfather’s homeland in Hungary and Slovakia. He lives in Washington Heights, NY with his wife. Website: ajsidransky.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ajsidranskybooks/ People of the Book is a copyrighted work of Meryl Ain and Authors on The Air Global Radio Network. Website: merylain.com/ www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAin facebook.com/MerylAinAuthor/ www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744 Twitter: @DrMerylAin Instagram: meryl_ain #AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #AJSidransky #Plums,Paprika&Ghosts #Hungary #Slovakia #AustroHungarianEmpire #Jake #CzechRepublic #TheHolocaust #Memoir #Grandfather #JewishIdentity #HungarianFood #ChickenPaprikash #PersonalResponsibility #Epiphany #FamilyResponsibility #FamilyTies #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #ShadowsWeCarry #RemembeToEat #ShortStories #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead

    48 min
  7. Julie Brill on HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia

    06/12/2025

    Julie Brill on HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia

    Meryl Ain chats with Julie Brill, the author of Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia. They discuss how Julie’s research and travel gave her a deep understanding of her family history in Serbia, especially her father’s childhood during The Holocaust. Julie Brill is the author of Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous publications and she sharesher family’s experiences in the Holocaust in middle and high school classrooms through Living Links. A lactation consultant, doula and childbirth educator, she is also the author of the anthology Round the Circle: Doulas Share Their Experiences. A graduate of Tufts University, she is the mother of two adult daughters. Author’s website: www.juliebrill.com/ Twitter: @JulieBrill8  Instagram: @JulieSBrill People of the Book is a copyrighted work of Meryl Ain and Authors on The Air Global Radio Network.  Website: merylain.com/  https://www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAin  https://www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744   #AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #JulieBrill#HowFatherSurvived  #HiddenInPlainSight #Belgrade #TheHolocaust #GermanOccupiedBelgrade #JewishCommunityInBelgrade #AuschwitzParadox #HolocaustSurvivors#ChildHolocaustSurvivors #Memoir #FamilyHistory #Serbia #Research #MemorialCandle#KeeperOfFamilyHistory #UntoldStory #UnravelingFamilyHistory #WritingProcess #YahrzeitCandle#LessonsOfTheHolocaust #ChildMemoriesOfHolocaust #HolocaustDocuments #PeopleoftheBook#MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #Sequel #ShadowsWeCarry #RememberToEat #LetsTalkJewishBooks#JewsLoveToRead!

    23 min
  8. Marilyn Simon Rothstein: humor and realism in WHO LOVES YOU BEST, a novel about competing grandmothers

    05/08/2025

    Marilyn Simon Rothstein: humor and realism in WHO LOVES YOU BEST, a novel about competing grandmothers

    Meryl chats with Marilyn Simon Rothstein about her new novel, Who Loves You Best. It’s the story of three very different grandmothers competing for the attention of their mutual granddaughter. In addition, Marilyn discusses her approach to combining humor with serious issues in her books, and shares insights into her character-naming process. Marilyn is the author of four novels: Crazy to Leave You, Husbands and Other Sharp Objects and Lift and Separate. Her latest book is Who Loves You Best. She grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from New York University, and began her writing career at Seventeen magazine. She married a man she met in an elevator, and owned an advertising agency for twenty-five years. She has two daughters and three grandchildren. Website: www.marilynsimonrothstein.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=552642036Instagram: www.instagram.com/marilynsimonrothstein/Amazon: a.co/d/ejDlSXg Website: merylain.com/ Copyright by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network#AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #MarilynSimonRothstein #WhoLovesYouBest #GrandmothersPerspective #CompetingGrandmothers #ThreeDifferentGrandmothers #Babysitting #LongDistanceGrandparenting #DilemmaforBusyModernGrandparents #Podiatrist #NamingCharacters #Jealousy #BocaRaton #TheBerkshires #Humor #CombiningTheHumorousAndSerious #Amazon #WomensFiction #CrazyToLeaveYou #HusbandsAndOtherSharpObjects #LiftAndSeparate #MerylAin #PeopleoftheBook #JewsLoveToRead #TheTakeawayMen #ShadowsWeCarry #RememberToEat

    26 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

On People of the Book, award-winning author Meryl Ain chats with notable authors, and brings you the best in books with Jewish content. From novels to memoirs to short stories to scholarly tomes, we cover a wide range of reads. Our freewheeling conversations are thought provoking and intimate. They span historical themes, contemporary issues, the writing process, and the influences that inspire and empower writers to tell their stories and share them with the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Meryl Ain
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Meryl Ain
  • Show Website
    People of the Book