Year One is a fictionalized memoire about my first year in America. It’s a labor of love, courage, and self-examination. It's been a long way getting here and I'm not done. Currently, I'm in the revision stage. Then will come the editing stage. I hope not to lose my nerve by then.
The cover art concept for this project came very quickly and organically for me. This isn’t always the case but here, it just made sense. The inspiration came from this—the first picture taken of me on American soil.
It was taken at a one-hour photo (sorcery!!!) on Kings Highway, in Brooklyn, NY-just a block from where I was living at the time. Of course, I couldn't think of anyone better to collaborate with on this project than this brilliant artist friend-Anna Abramzon. Two immigrant kids, Anna and I are somehow connected in some sort of creative realm. Maybe in a parallel universe we create together? In another life? Who knows, but we did find each other randomly on social media a few years ago and quickly discovered that we seem to understand each other like no other. When I mentioned this idea to Anna, she immediately understood my concept and ran with it. The result is pure art: some fact, some inspired fiction. I hope you like this as much as I do. Thank you, dearest Anna. You managed to go inside my head and put my ideas on paper.