Paskoff’s Book Details Finding Hope

With a full expanse of the Chattahoochee River in the background in her Buckhead home, Atlanta native Sharon Paskoff spoke about her new book “The Adjustable Lives of Women,” delving into the search for hope when hope was hard to find.

She said, “Most people have struggles and challenges, and I wanted to explore how women adjust to wanted and unwanted changes in their lives.” Paskoff’s text, while almost unheard of in literary circles, combines fiction with real life interviews with women, presented through a radio talk show host character.

The book is about how women adjust to these changes, challenges, chaos and sadness in their lives. It’s not unusual to find families/siblings caring for a declining parent. The main character, Candice, is an entertaining, well-informed radio talk show host who speaks with women “calling in” to her talk show. Everything from menopause misery, family challenges, PTSD, mental-health medication “gone mad,” heart-wrenching grief, and the death of a child are discussed.

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“The Adjustable Lives of Women” is nontraditional as it bounces from fiction to reality, and back again.

The story is fiction; however, Paskoff interviewed several women adjusting to slow-moving or instant pain and grief. The brave women tell their stories, and the non-fiction interviews are clearly identified by their names in bold print. While Candice is exploring happiness, sadness and the battle for hope on her radio talk show, “The Adjustable Lives of Women,” she and her family are trying their best to take care of their aging mother with a blood disorder and memory loss. Doctor appointments, grocery store necessities, caregiver schedules, visits and phone calls are complicated by their mother’s various moving parts.

Candice’s life is not balanced, it’s hectic at best. The narrative acknowledges that suffering is also work, that takes time, patience, compassion, love and sometimes humor. Humor comes naturally to Paskoff, as she compares handling grief to renovating a kitchen. (page 69) “People make their own decisions about how to grieve and make their own decisions for countertop choices for kitchen renovation … traditional, modern, or a combo.”

How does one go about writing a 225-page book in her seventh decade? The answer is “it took years.” Paskoff said, “I went back and forth between fiction and reality, though the book is not personal. The fourth year I got serious and worked on it every day. I’m an avid reader and love talk radio. I wanted to reach out to those looking for help whether it be with children on the spectrum or the successful (or not) use of medications. It was an intense process. My editor had me rewrite a bunch. I’m not a natural writer. I learned a lot in the process.”

Jenna Zark, author of, “Crooked Lines: A Single Mom’s Jewish Journey,” stated, “’The Adjustable Lives of Women’ is buoyant, funny, honest and inspiring.”

Paskoff previously published a book on etiquette. She grew up at the MJCCA on Sundays and enjoyed The Varsity, along with robust Passover seders.

Rebecca L. Ray, PhD. Executive Vice President, Human Capitol, said, “Sharon Paskoff has managed to do the near impossible … combine an entertaining read with distilled wisdom.”

Prime Women, the online magazine for middle-aged women, labeled “’The Adjustable Lives of Women’ a must read filled with stories that will make you laugh and some that will make you cry, but with each page, you’ll want to hear more.”

People who know Paskoff might sometimes hear her Southern voice speaking through Candice’s search for knowledge, healing, compassion and humor. In one area, she shows how one mother handles the grief of losing a child to “doing something meaningful” by getting into action touting the Narcan drug that quickly reverses a potentially lethal overdose reaction, if on hand.

Paskoff, the daughter of the late Matile and Keggy Ginburg, was born in Atlanta where she enjoyed The Varsity, Sunday afternoons at the MJCCA, and robust Passover seders filled with homemade matzo ball soup, chopped liver, meringue cookies and her family’s laughter, love and stories. She attended the University of Georgia and later graduated from Georgia State with a BS in psychology. Paskoff has been married to Steve Paskoff for 47 years, raising two children, John and Rebecca, and two grandchildren. Rescue pup, Margo, is close at hand and also enjoys the adjacent river’s expanse.

Prior to, “The Adjustable Lives of Women,” Paskoff self-published the book, “Easy Etiquette.” She appeared at the Decatur Book Festival and has donated book copies to women in prison and to public libraries. “The Adjustable Lives of Women” is available on Amazon.