Author Event: Rachel Michelberg with Carla Payne

Page 158 Books welcomes author Rachel Michelberg in conversation about her book CRASH: HOW I BECAME A RELUCTANT CAREGIVER with local Aging Life Care Professional Carla Payne. This is a digital event held on our Crowdcast channel. You can register for the event here.

When Rachel’s husband, David, survives a plane crash and is left with severe brain damage, she is faced with a life-shaking dilemma: will she be the dutiful Jewish girl she’s always thought of herself as and dedicate her life to caring for him—despite the fact that she stopped loving him long before the accident?

Rachel likes to think of herself as a nice Jewish girl, dedicated to doing what’s honorable, just as her parents raised her to do. But when her husband, David, survives a plane crash and is left with severe brain damage, she faces a choice: will she dedicate her life to caring for a man she no longer loves, or walk away?

Their marriage had been rocky at the time of the accident, and though she wants to do the right thing, Rachel doesn’t know how she is supposed to care for two kids in addition to a now irrational, incontinent, and seizure-prone grown man. And how will she manage to see her lover? But then again, what kind of selfish monster would refuse to care for her disabled husband, no matter how unhappy her marriage had been? Rachel wants to believe that she can dedicate her life to David’s needs, but knows in her heart it is impossible.

CRASH tackles a pervasive dilemma in our culture: the moral conflicts individuals face when caregiving for a disabled or cognitively impaired family member.

Rachel Michelberg grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and still enjoys living there with her husband, Richard, and their two dogs, Nala and Beenie. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from San Jose State University, and has performed leading roles in musicals and opera from Carmen to My Fair Lady, as well as the part of the Mother Abbess (three times!) in The Sound of Music. When Rachel isn't working with one of her thirty voice and piano students, she loves gardening, hiking, and making her own bone broth. Crash is her first book.

Our event provides a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules may be expelled from the event without a refund at the discretion of the organizers.