Guest Blogger: Saralee Rosenberg

I recently read and reviewed a very funny book called DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD by Saralee Rosenberg. You can imagine how excited I was when Ms. Rosenberg agreed to guest blog for me. I hope this little post will give you an idea of Ms. Rosenberg's writing style and her incredible sense of humor!

I suppose if you write a novel entitled Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead, it's fair game for readers to ask/assume that I was inspired by a real life neighbor from hell. The truth is, my family has been pretty fortunate in living next to decent people, or at least people who remember to draw the shades and who don't keep major appliances on the porch. What inspired me to write this book instead was the whole curious concept of randomness. The question of how it is that we end up living where we do and then possibly having to interact with horrid souls with awful taste in lawn ornaments. Yet who even thinks about this when looking for a new place? We don't ask the real estate agents for a full dossier of everyone on the block. We make decisions based on location, price, size, style, etc. And yet, the greatest home can be a misery if we're living next to those who by their actions and words, reek havoc on our daily lives.

This fascinates me because it raises the question, is it really random, or is it karma? And if it's karma, then what is the lesson we're supposed to learn? Never to move anywhere without first finding out who is living next door? Maybe, but it could be more significant than that... maybe we need to learn to be more patient and understanding,or to be less prejudiced, or to realize that if we judge others harsher than ourselves, we're not being fair. Not sure. But one thing I do know. If there is hostility between neighbors in nice communities, is it any wonder that countries go to war? It would be great if all of us, people and nations, showed greater compassion for others and made every effort to live in peace. It just wouldn't make for a very funny book, lol.

I'd like to thank Ms. Rosenberg for taking the time to write this essay and share it with us. If you'd like to learn a little bit more about her and her new book DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD, there is a great interview recently posted here.