What happens when the cameras stop rolling and the war is over? The Bridge offers a gripping answer in a story that spans both battlefields and the quieter struggles that follow.
The Bridge
The Bridge by Alan Ramias
Synopsis:
A War That Won’t Let Go. A Memory That Can’t Be Buried. A Story That Refuses to Fade.
Moving between the intense conflict of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta and the hushed halls of a Chicago film studio, Alan Ramias’s The Bridge explores not just the war itself, but the lasting psychological scars it leaves behind. Through a powerful mix of fiction, poetry, and documentary realism, Ramias paints a portrait of soldiers returning home only to face a different kind of battle—one fought with silence, guilt, and the need to make sense of loss. The novel’s characters are as deeply scarred as the landscapes they inhabit, and their stories echo with the complexities of survival, memory, and the truths that refuse to fade.
Alan Ramias brings a rare depth of perspective to his fiction, shaped by his time as an Army reporter in Vietnam and his later work consulting with global corporations on performance and strategy. His decades of experience navigating complex systems and human resilience inform the layered storytelling of The Bridge, a novel that blends personal history with a profound understanding of the psychological aftermath of war.
Set during the excitement and tumult of the second wave of feminism and the sexual revolution, this coming-of-age novel about female friendship in the 1970s will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah’s Firefly Lane.
It’s 1976, the second wave of feminism is in full swing, and three cousins share an apartment at Yale. Two are seniors; the third is starting graduate school. Each is seeking her own path in both love and work—but all three women, not quite knowing how to use the new freedoms available to them, alternate between supporting and undermining each other in their efforts.
Julia, the most conventional of the three, wants the security of her monogamous relationship with Ben but is attracted to other men. Anna plans on traveling the world to escape her boyfriend and alcoholic mother. Robin, who is bisexual, has various partners as she dreams of open relationships. All fall under the spell of a charismatic musician, Michael, who is too wounded to be available. By the end of a year of experiments and necessary mistakes, the cousins will make crucial decisions that will determine the course of the rest of their lives.
This prequel to Levine’s first two critically acclaimed novels, The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten, dramatizes the struggles that women have faced and continue to face while entering adulthood in a world not quite ready to accept them as equals.
Pre-order Three Cousins at Amazon. Release date April 8, 2025.
About Jessica:
Jessica Levine
Jessica holds a B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was a Mellon Fellow. After receiving her Ph.D., she decided not to pursue an academic teaching career, but to become a hypnotherapist. She trained at HTI (Hypnotherapy Training Institute) and has been practicing for 20 years. Jessica also has had a rich and varied experience teaching creative writing, composition, and literature in universities, high school, adult education, and the private sector. In 2014-15, Jessica held workshops on writing the novel at the American Library in Paris. Previously, she taught at the University of Toronto, New York University, and the University of California at Berkeley. She is the author not only of novels but also of a literary history, Delicate Pursuit: Discretion in Henry James and Edith Wharton. Visit her at her website.
For fans of Georgia Hunter’s We Were the Lucky Ones and Anita Abriel’s The Light After the War comes a historical narrative about the lives of Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century and one woman’s journey through adversity toward personal freedom.
At an early age, Gitel questions the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism. Born in Belorussia and brought to the US in 1911 as a child, she leads a life constrained by her religious Jewish parents. Forbidden from going to college and pushed into finding a husband, she marries Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist whose left-wing politics she admires. They plan to work together in a neighborhood pharmacy in Chicago—but when the Great Depression hits and their bank closes, their hopes are shattered.
In the years that follow, Shmuel’s questionable decisions, his poor health, and his bad luck plague their marriage and leave them constantly in financial distress. Gitel dreams of going back to school to become a teacher once their one daughter reaches high school, but an unexpected pregnancy quashes that aspiration as well. And when, later, a massive stroke leaves Shmuel disabled, Gitel is challenged to combine caring for him, being the breadwinner at a time when women face salary discrimination, and being present for their second daughter.
Offering an illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resourcefulness and resilience in the face of limiting and often oppressive expectations.
IRIS MITLIN LAV grew up in the liberal Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She went on to earn an MBA from George Washington University and an AB from the University of Chicago, and to enjoy a long career of public policy analysis and management, with an emphasis on improving policies for low- and moderate-income families. She also taught public finance at Johns Hopkins University and George Mason University, and in 1999 received the Steven D. Gold award for contributions to state and local fiscal policy, an award jointly given by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Tax Association. Her first novel, “A Wife in Bangkok,” was published in 2020 by She Writes Press.“Gitel’s Freedom” is her second novel. Lav and her husband now live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with Mango, their goldendoodle, and grandchildren nearby. Learn more about her life and work at:www.irismitlinlav.com
Synopsis:
How well do you really know the people you encounter every day? Award-winning author Robert Steven Goldstein’s gripping psychological thriller “Golda’s Hutch” (March 11, 2025, Deft Heft Books) explores what we hide from the world versus what we reveal, the lengths we’ll go to keep our secrets buried—and the unpredictable steps we take when our innermost lives are threatened.
Craig Schumacher is not your typical executive. With a gentle spirit and a morning ritual that includes serene meditation alongside his cherished rabbit, Golda, Craig values connection over competition. Yet, beneath his calm, polished exterior lies a secret he’s worked hard to keep hidden—one that could change everything.
Enter Byron Dorn—Craig’s employee and chaos incarnate. Crude, impulsive, and driven by envy, Byron is elated when he and his wife stumble upon information that he believes could unravel Craig’s life. But when Byron ropes another couple into his schemes, things become a lot more complicated.
Because Craig isn’t the only one with a secret. And as the stakes rise, everyone will have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to get what they want—and when they’re willing to walk away.
Set against the dynamic backdrop of San Francisco, this gripping psychological novel weaves a complex tapestry of deception, envy, desire, politics, and power.
“A scintillating take on marital and workplace dramas with compelling characters and devilish surprises…Goldstein’s precise, elegant prose cleverly takes its time revealing his characters’ secret desires, building suspense for fun to come…when readers are alone with each character’s thoughts, the author serves up something delicious.” —Kirkus Reviews
“All the ways we hide our secrets from each other—and from ourselves—are on display in Robert Steven Goldstein’s latest and extremely entertaining novel, Golda’s Hutch. Moving between America’s cutthroat corporate boardrooms to kink-play in San Francisco’s BDSM world to mysticism as embodied by a titular, yoga-practicing rabbit, this delicate balancing act reveals, layer by layer, a thrilling and thought-provoking exploration of human nature and the boundaries of self-discovery. Goldstein’s prose elegantly entwines psychological tension, dark humor, and an unapologetically raw examination of human desires to create an unforgettable reading experience. For fans of psychological drama and literary fiction, Golda’s Hutch is an intelligent, compelling, and at times humorous narrative that is both thought-provoking and insightful. Highly recommended.” —Madeleine Ivy, author of The Witchhammer
“Set in San Francisco, Golda’s Hutch explores the world of corporate machinations through the eyes of Craig Schumacher—an executive who puts the feelings of his employees over cold calculation and the hard-ass bottom line. Craig is also negotiating the risky shoals of his marriage to Shoshana, a professional dominatrix—while he desperately seeks a way to rechannel his penchant for sexual submission into a more sustainable lifestyle. Featuring a host of unique and well-developed characters, Golda’s Hutch gives the reader an eye-opening peek into a wide range of subjects, from the virtues of daily morning yoga practice and vegetarianism (replete with an impressive array of menu items) to the finer points of mortuary science and, of course, BDSM. A riveting page-turner that goes with white meat, red meat, or no meat at all.”
—Tom Szollosi, screenwriter for Star Trek: Voyager, Three O’Clock High, and The Incredible Hulk; author of the books The Space He Filled and The Last Master Outlaw; and professor of screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University.
Robert is the author of five novels. His first, The Swami Deheftner, about problems that ensue when ancient magic and mysticism manifest in the twenty-first century, developed a small cult following in India. His second novel, Enemy Queen, a sexual comedy of manners set in a North Carolina college town, was a finalist in the category of cross genre fiction for the International Book Awards. Robert’s third novel, Cat’s Whisker, probes the perceived rift between science and spirituality; it was longlisted for the prestigious Chanticleer International 2021 SOMERSET Book Award for Literary and Contemporary Fiction. His fourth novel, Will’s Surreal Period, about the peripatetic machinations of a dysfunctional family, was longlisted for the Chanticleer International 2022 SOMERSET Book Award for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.
Golda’s Hutch is Robert’s fifth novel. He and his wife Sandy live in San Francisco; over their thirty-six years together, they’ve shared their home with an array of dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, and parrots, each of whom has displayed a unique personality, startling intelligence, and a profound capacity for love. Robert has practiced yoga, meditation, and vegetarianism for over fifty years. Find out more about him at his website.
Henry Manero wants to grow up. But growing up is seldom the same as moving on. In this poetic and at times philosophical coming-of-age novel, Henry must learn to navigate his inherited guilt and trauma alongside several generations of dispirited loners-among them his absent father, suffering mother, three wild cousins, and bumbling stepfather. When Henry befriends an elderly man, Josef, whose sagaciousness presents new possibilities in life, he wonders if he can escape the trappings of his small town, and of his own mind. Will Henry achieve a newfound sense of self with the help of Josef, or is Josef yet another false star in a constellation of malevolent men with which Henry is surrounded?
Combining the lyricism of Justin Torres’ We the Animals with the kaleidoscopic visions of boyhood in David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, Matthew Daddona’s debut novel The Longitude of Grief is a tender rumination on the familial bonds that entangle and entrance us all.
Praise
“A mesmerizing read. In The Longitude of Grief, Matthew Daddona traces the complex connections among a boy, his family, and his community. This dark coming-of-age tale explores the ebb and flow of intimacies and betrayals in a small town over the course of the years. A debut rich with melancholy beauty and emotional acumen.”
–Helen Phillips, author of The Need
“A multi-generational coming-of-age story beautifully crafted with language and setting that evoke Tom Drury or Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. The poetry pulls us in and the finely drawn array of characters keeps us glued to the page until the very end.”
—Bethany Ball, author of The Pessimists
“A lush, sweeping, intergenerational novel that fearlessly takes you into the many conflicting rooms of the human soul.”
—Simon Van Booy, bestselling author of Sipsworth
Want something that will help your really get into the mood of the book? Go to LargeHeartedBoy.com for Matthew Daddona’s playlist for his novel “The Longitude of Grief”.
Matthew Daddona is a writer and editor from New York whose fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have been published in outlets such as The New York Times, Outside, Fast Company, UPROXX, Amtrak’s The National, Guernica, Tin House, Slice Magazine, and Grammy. His debut poetry collection, House of Sound, was published by Trail to Table Press in 2020. Matthew is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets prize for poetry, was a runner-up in The Blue Earth Review’s 2017 flash fiction contest, and was longlisted in River Styx’ 2021 flash fiction contest. His debut novel, The Longitude of Grief, will be published by Wandering Aengus Press in 2024. He has received grants and fellowships from Craigardan (Elizabethtown, NY), NES (Skagaströnd, Iceland) and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (Nebraska City, NE). He is currently working on his second novel and a collection of short stories. For EVEN MORE visit MatthewDaddon.com/about-Matthew.
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