Andrea Kott talks about her memoir, “Salt On A Robin’s Tail: An Unlikely Jewish Journey Through Childhood, Forgiveness and Hope."  

Andrea's book is a beautifully and sensitively written story of hope and resilience. Dealing with loss and heartbreak, it ultimately concludes with an understanding of the joys of being alive. 

Andrea had two older brothers who were out of the house for much of Andrea's childhood. That left Andrea alone with her mom, who had an intolerance to alcohol yet depended on it to ease hurts that had never healed. And although Andrea's mother worked, money was tight, and there was shame involved with that.

Theirs was not a traditional Jewish household, yet despite their problems, Andrea's mom soldiered on. She was a survivor; she had hope even in the worst of times. "Tomorrow's a new day," she would say. Andrea eventually came to appreciate that about her mom, who was in some ways a woman before her time. A woman who had no expectations of her only daughter except happiness

In her book, Andrea has many charming passages that offset the sadder ones. Like her mom, she also persevered. Andrea went on to earn a Master of Public Health degree. She's a freelance public health writer who also writes essays on the publishing platform medium.com. She and her husband live in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and in 2020 celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary. They have two adult children.

“Salt On A Robin’s Tail: An Unlikely Jewish Journey Through Childhood, Forgiveness and Hope" was published in May 2020 by Blyden Square Books.