I was sitting in an Indian restaurant waiting for a friend when I received an email from my editor with a positive endorsement of my book that brought tears to my eyes. The blurb was from Victor Navasky, former editor and publisher of the Nation and author of Naming Names. “I’m in awe of Margaret Singer’s brave attempts to disentangle and illuminate the … issues raised by her experiences as the child of a Communist, turned ex-Communist, turned informer,” Navasky wrote. “One might have thought that enough had been written about lives mangled by the McCarthy years. Legacy of a False Promise shows that one would have been wrong.”
I had dreamt of the day a box of my own books would appear at my doorstep. When it finally came, it did not disappoint. I lifted one book from the box of twenty-four, turned it over in my hands, opened it and flipped through the pages. I was elated to see the book’s final format, its illustrations, the cover created by the Press and the notes and index – all of a piece.
My five-minute remarks at the Jewish Community Center’s local author brunch had been well received and I was excited to be sitting at a table signing books. I had to write fast to keep the line before me moving. At the end of the event, I was delighted to discover that the twenty copies of my book had sold out.
Perhaps the most thrilling experience to date has been seeing my book displayed at Borders and Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor. This is beyond my wildest dreams.
Perhaps the most thrilling experience to date has been seeing my book displayed at Borders and Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor. This is beyond my wildest dreams.
