Description
In his final college semester, Ben awakens to read on his computer screen about the death of his classmate and childhood friend Avi. Avi's death is sudden and senseless, killed by a drunk driver on his way back to his dorm. Here begins Ben's story of coming to terms with loss and finding his way to adulthood.
In the fall of 2010, with his new degree in Moral Philosophy, Ben boards a plane to Israel to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Though Ben has never held a gun, before the next summer ends, he is a trained sharpshooter. His service takes him from the Negev Desert to the Occupied Territories and Gazan border, all while finding "home" at a southern kibbutz where he is adopted as a brother and son. From Providence, Rhode Island to California and at last to Israel where Ben joins Mahal, the special set of non-Israeli-born Jews who volunteer in the IDF, he finds family where never expected, a place of his own in the Israeli mosaic. In a memoir that is both a coming-of-age story and epic ballad, Bastomski's lyrically told story is intensely personal and ultimately universal.
Author: Ben Bastomski
Publisher: Delphinium Books
Published: 07/16/2024
Pages: 244
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781953002396
ISBN10: 1953002390
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Memoirs
- Biography & Autobiography | Jewish
- Biography & Autobiography | Arab & Middle Eastern
About the Author
Please note that the author, after the publication of the book, was living in Israel and was at the kibbutz Be'eri when it was attacked. He was visiting his adoptive family (written about in the memoir and dedicated to one of its members) when Hamas attacked. It was due to his efforts and those of his adoptive father, that the Hamas fighters who entered the home, were unable to break through into the safe room. His efforts saved the lives of his adoptive family.