{"id":337,"date":"2021-02-12T15:25:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T19:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaeleweissmanwrites.com\/?page_id=337"},"modified":"2026-01-07T12:25:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:25:55","slug":"homepage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/michaeleweissmanwrites.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Writing Your Memoir Scene by Scene<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Hosted by Politics and Prose<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This online class uses techniques from screenwriting to help would-be memoirists find their stories and dramatize them scene by scene. Gleaning lessons learned writing her own 2023 memoir, veteran instructor Michaele Weissman has created playful and surprising writing prompts focusing on character, action, dialogue and setting. Attending to these screenwriting essentials helps aspiring memoirists get out of their own ways, abandoning what they think they should write and, ultimately discovering what they must write. The goal of this workshop is to set a process in motion and nurture it. \u00a0Participants need not be actively working on a memoir, but experience writing or struggling to write first person material in a creative fashion is helpful.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI just finished reading The Rye Bread Marriage<\/em>, and I want to shower you with rose petals. What a great memoir\u2014not just because you delved so deeply into the rye bread we Latvians love, and not just because you made such a sustained song of marriage. But also\u2014and for me this is high praise\u2014because you really nailed it in terms of writing about Latvian history and culture, simplifying complexities, being critical yet loving and thoughtful. I actually recognized the culture you are describing. You\u2019ve done a fantastic job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Banuta Rubess, theater artist, author, Rhodes scholar with a Phd in history<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2026Michaele Weissman has written a beautiful love letter celebrating her four-decade marriage to her husband, a Latvian refugee who she did not fully understand until she understood his bread\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Francis Lam, host of the Splendid Table podcast<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I loved this book\u2026.It made me laugh and at the end, it brought tears to my eyes\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Zibby Owens, host of the Moms Don\u2019t Have Time to Read Books podcast<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cA charming, insightful meditation on the intersection of love, family, and food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Kirkus Reviews<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe prevailing tone is light, but Weissman doesn\u2019t shy away from serious topics, including John\u2019s trauma as a WWII refugee\u2026the result is a witty celebration of marriage that\u2019s sure to resonate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Publisher’s Weekly<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Rye Bread Marriage<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Michaele Weissman<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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The Rye Bread Marriage<\/em> is a memoir\/culinary history about rye bread and a marriage that unites two very different people, both with roots in rye-bread-loving Eastern Europe.  Rye bread is the subject of the book and it is a lens enabling author Michaele Weissman to look at her husband\u2019s dramatic family story and her own. Her husband, John Melngailis<\/a> fled his native Latvia with his family as a child to escape Stalin\u2019s takeover of his homeland. A retired professor of electrical engineering, he is the owner of Black Rooster Food<\/a>, a small company marketing Latvian rye bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both funny and wise, The Rye Bread Marriage<\/em> explores deep and confounding subjects with a light touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“This voicey, often funny memoir is comprised of 125 chapters of varying length, some just a page, some even shorter. Here\u2019s the entirety of chapter 41, \u201cMarriage: Second Definition\u201d: \u201cMarriage: An intimate relationship existing on a continuum between love and hate, with partners perpetually suspended between the two.\u201d Some of the chapters form short, lyrical essays; some are more journalistic. The memoir really shines when Weissman recounts research visits to Latvia and Germany\u2026 that led her to a deeper understanding of MeIngailis\u2019 family history and the trauma of war and exile, as well as Latvian history and its unique bread.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014BookPage<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a superbly researched and very well written exploration of interfaith\/intercultural marriage, largely told through the lens of Latvian rye bread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Lisa Cynamon Mayers, co-chair of the Mandel JCC Cleveland Jewish Book Festival<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Beautiful. Michaele Weissman takes us on a magical journey across continents and time, and I doubt there is a couple who won\u2019t see themselves in the story of this marriage. The trail of rye bread crumbs (real and symbolic) led me to an emotional glimpse of the impact of love, war, and fear on our humanity and who we become.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Liz Neumark, CEO and founder of Great Performances Catering<\/a> and author of Sylvia\u2019s Table<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI closed the last pages with tears in my eyes for the gift of these complex histories, this compelling love story\u2014and a determination to find the best rye bread in town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of Book of the Little Axe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Michaele Weissman speaking at a book event hosted by Washington, D.C.’s beloved independent bookstore Politics & Prose<\/a>. To watch the full video, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Meet Michaele<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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The Rye Bread Marriage<\/a><\/em> is a food and family memoir exploring the roots of her husband’s obsession with Latvian rye bread, his wartime childhood, and the universal complexities of marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Michaele\u2019s recent articles, \u201cThe Memoir That Found Me: Michaele Weissman on Food, Marriage, and Identity\u201d<\/a> for LitHub and \u201cRye Bread Is My Secret to a Happy Marriage\u201c<\/a> for The Nosher. Listen to her chat with food writer Francis Lam on The Splendid Table\u2019s podcast<\/a> and with Zibby Owens on the Moms Don\u2019t Have Time to Read Books podcast<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stay up to date, follow Michaele on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More About Michaele<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tNeed help with memoir writing? I\u2019m offering an onl<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Need\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tCalling All Readers @ryebreadmarriage @blackroos<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\"Calling\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tJust how good is Black Rooster Ryebread? Good enou<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Just\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThe Taste of Home @blackroosterfood @blackrooster<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\"The\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tBook Talk: Thursday October 17, 5PM @mcpl_librari<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\"Book\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPlease come to my first really local book talk. O<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Please\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tCoffee friends, I need your help. @rosethomasbann<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\"Coffee\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tA girl named Michaele A woman writer named Michael<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\"A\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tJohn selling rye bread at Wagshals Market on Satur<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"John\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\t<\/div>\n\n\t
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<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\t\t\t\tFollow on Instagram<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t