Miriam The Medium
Rochelle Jewel Shapiro
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2004 Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0743244788

What do you do when your husband's business is failing, your daughter is ashamed of you & your faith in your own talents hits rock bottom?

What can dilemma-bound Miriam do? She's a distraught modernday Long Island housewife who just happens to be a phone psychic who can heal broken hearts, mend relatioships & help others find new careers -- all the while helpless to assuage her family's trials.

Her husband's patience for her talents has run out. Her teenage daughter, who cannot stand to be in the same room with her, much less listen to the physic advice, is involved with a bad news boyfriend, & Miriam's agent is begging her to go public, convinced she could make enough money to solve her family's financial woes.

&, like a shaken bottle of champagne -- the cork pops off & Miriam's life hurtles along a hilarious, hectic & hair-raising roller coaster ride.

Woven throughout are scenes from her past -- her beloved old-world Russian grandmother who inspired & taught her how to commune with spirits, her wanting-to-be-modern mother who feels Miriam's emerging gift is the worst thing that could ever happen to her & does everything in her power to stop it.

Miriam, however, persists, growing up psychic, despite the trouble her gifts cause her, & happily marrying a young pharmacist, Rory, a scientist who accepts her for who she is, & what she can do. Soon, however, sparks fly. Miriam's disapproving mother dies, leaving her still yearning for her support, love & approval. Though Rory's got his own business, he's getting buried under a mountain of bills, & his feelings about Miriam's gift are changing. While he desperately needs Miriam to help their cash flow, her impromptu readings of his customers (& psychic suspicions about a shady staff member) are turning customers away. Their once perfect marriage is fraying.

When Cara runs away with the boyfriend from hell, all Miriam's gifts are called into question. Can she find her daughter, save her marriage? & make peace with her mother's spirit?

Miriam The Medium is a well-written romp about finding your identity, family, & longing.

Rochelle Jewel Shapiro is the granddaughter of a Russian-born psychic. She has published in The New York Times & numerous literary magazines.
(05/09/04)

Rebecca