Sacramento State professor Karen Levy has released her first book. The book “My Father’s Garden,” is Levy’s autobiographical journey as an Israeli-American to find her place in the world.  

Levy said her life had been a dichotomy, making it difficult to figure out where she felt she belonged and where she identified best. She struggled to identify herself with what she calls “loud-mouthed Israelis (or) polite Americans” in the book.

“I am an Israeli-American writer and this (book) is an account of my life between those two shores and worlds,” Levy said. “Since I am a dual citizen, (I) did a lot of traveling between my two countries. I have a dual life, so to speak.” 

For Levy, writing the book was a way to establish a voice and figure out where home is. Levy’s friend Professor Daniela Kramer-Moore, head of a post-graduate psychotherapy department at an academic college in Israel, watched Levy on her journey to find her voice.

“She told me she had a story that was burning to be told, but didn’t yet have the voice to tell it,” Kramer-Moore said. “She wrote her untold story in her mind’s eye while walking, driving her car, going to sleep and waking up in the morning. She wrote bits and pieces, but wasn’t sure if they’ll become a full story.”

It took Levy – who has a master’s degree in English and creative writing from Sac State – four years to complete the book after much introspection, research and time. 

Throughout those four years, Levy said she traveled to Israel looking for answers as to where she should call home. The thoughts and memories illustrated in the memoir are told in short stories, allowing the reader glimpses into what Levy calls “the life of someone who belongs everywhere and nowhere.” 

Sheree Meyer, associate dean of undergraduate studies at Sac State, said the book helps illustrate the life Levy had lived, split between two identities and homes.

“Levy’s memoir captures the sights, sounds and smells of her homes in Israel and in America,” Meyer said. “Anyone who has been asked the question ‘So where do you come from?’ and has hesitated because the answer is too complex and layered for a single response, Karen’s book will resonate with its honesty about the people and places one calls home.”

Levy said the most difficult part of writing her memoir was deciding which pieces of her life to leave out and which were integral to her story. Through publication, Levy discovered the identity she had been searching for. 

“By the end of the project, some of my questions regarding my quest for home were answered, and I realized that I didn’t have to choose one or the other,” Levy said. “It is possible to have more than one place to call home.” 

Homebound Publications published Levy’s memoir and has already placed copies in the Hornet Bookstore as well as The Avid Reader in Davis. The book is also available on Kobo, Kindle and Nook and can be purchased through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Pam Parsons, store director for the Hornet Bookstore, said that faculty authors are consistent sellers at the campus bookstore.

“We can say with certainty that our stock selection would not be complete without (faculty) inclusion,” Parsons said. “It is a great benefit to us here on campus to have faculty who are professionally involved in the subjects which they teach. I think this becomes a point of interest for our students, especially for those who are working towards being writers themselves.”

Levy has scheduled several appearances for the book. Events for the book throughout this month include book launch at the International House in Davis, an event at the congregation of B’nai Israel, and events at The Avid Reader bookstore in Davis and the Jewish Heritage Festival in Sacramento. Levy has also been invited to give a workshop at the first creative writing conference at University of the Pacific in June.

As for furthering her career as a writer, Levy does have some plans in store. 

“As for the next book, it’s there in my head asking to be told, but I’d like to try my hand at fiction this time around, so it’s a bit more challenging,” Levy said.

Kramer-Moore looks forward to more work from Levy.

“Karen is a moving poet even as she writes prose, and so, line by line, she recaptures her past with the skillful hand of a true artist,” Kramer-Moore said. “I can only hope there is more to come.”