ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: What family anecdote drove Lisa to write this book?
Mother’s Day is celebrated in more than 130 countries in the world, and the most popular month to observe this holiday is May, so this week we are celebrating it too, by interviewing the author of a new contemporary mother–daughter novel.
Lisa F. Rosenberg holds degrees from U.C. Berkeley, the Graduate Humanities program, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Dominican University of California. She began her career as a gallerist in San Francisco and later worked as a public guide at SFMOMA and a Museum Educator at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Her professional writing has long centered on nonfiction—exhibition catalog essays, art criticism, tours, and public talks. Her short story Family Footnotes appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of Amaranth and was a Driftwood Press quarterfinalist.
Fine, I’m a Terrible Person is Lisa’s debut novel. Inspired by her Sephardic family from the island of Rhodes, the novel celebrates the rich culture of the Rhodeslis—their language, history, customs and cuisine. Since its release in January, the book has received a Zibby Award, a Pencraft Award, and recognition from the Jewish Book Council for the 2025–2026 season. So this week, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we are speaking with Lisa about what has been called a funny, heart-wrenching, adult, mother-daughter story.
