With A Good Eye and Dysfunctional Parents

 'With a Good Eye' and your forthcoming novel, 'The Inheritance,' an adult psychological thriller set for release in 2025, both center on a young woman with dysfunctional parents and an older brother. 

Why did you maintain that same family structure? 

What inspired you to write about these types of families?

Dysfunction exists within every family unit, but the degree varies, prompting us to categorize them as, for example, 'normal,' 'high/low functioning,' or 'pathological.' Today, these labels are commonly discussed across social media platforms and in popular culture. I grew up with TV shows that sold the 'perfect' family façade. I always felt a lack of genuineness to these shows. Loving and happy families are not exempt from struggles with addiction or mental illness. I wanted to write more real characters and constellations. This theme of family dysfunction holds universal significance and continues to intrigue me.

When I was writing With a Good Eye, the term 'narcissist' was being used liberally online, in novels, and in popular culture, often to describe behaviors ranging from vanity to self-centeredness or pettiness. However, genuine narcissism as a personality disorder is far more complex and harrowing, often leading victims into denial and self-doubt. Parents exhibiting narcissistic traits can pose serious dangers to their children, a reality I've unfortunately experienced firsthand.

In With A Good Eye, I aimed to portray actual narcissism as a personality disorder, recognizing its various manifestations along a spectrum. Having encountered it more than I'd care to admit, I understand its lifelong impact and sought to delve into this in the mother-daughter relationship depicted in the novel. Yet, it was very important to me to depict well-rounded, nuanced characters and not stereotypes or clichés.

Except from my Jerusalem Post interview with Atara Beck.

Want to hear more? Meet me at the Book Shuk December 7