58. Guest Corie Adjmi 6-8-23

Corie Adjmi is the author of the short story collection Life and Other Shortcomings, which won an International Book Award, an IBPA Benjamin Franklin award, and an American Fiction Award. Her prize-winning essays and short stories have appeared in dozens of journals and magazines, including HuffPost, North American Review, Indiana Review, Medium, Motherwell and Kveller. She’s been featured in Travel and Leisure, New York Magazine, The Hollywood Times, Parade and BuzzFeed. Her novel, The Marriage Box, was named a Must-Read New Book of 2022 on Katie Couric Media. When she is not writing, Corie does volunteer work, cooks, draws, bikes and hikes. She and her husband have five children and a number of grandchildren, with more on the way. She lives and works in New York City.

On today's episode, we discussed the danger of repeatedly showing a group in only one way; people can become "othered." We also chatted about how we evolve as individuals in a marriage, compromise, and the nuances within the Orthodox community. Corie writes about the Syrian Jewish community, and she shared why it's important to have a more expansive view of what Orthodox Judaisim can and does look like.

We talked about the name of her book; the marriage box was a real place in the early '80s! Teens would gather during the summer in New Jersey--boys would go there to ask them on dates. Originally from New Orleans, Corie shares that she avoided the Marriage Box and why. She chose to write a novel instead of memoir because she found writing fiction is so much more fun. Initially a teacher, Corie fell in love with writing when working on her graduate school thesis on storytelling. We also talked about how being creative is when we feel most alive, the joy it brings us, and much more.

Thank you, Corie, for the fascinating, lively conversation!