When Fishes Love Doves is a dramatic, fictional love story with a special appeal for those in the Jewish community who attempted to bridge two worlds when they moved from large cities to suburbs in the 1960s. At this heady time in American history, traditional values were undergoing a dramatic, major paradigm shift. The marriage of two cultures is difficult, and Adina Greenfeld struggles to find out if, hard as she tries, it will ever be possible to live in a different way than her deep-rooted, traditional culture. This lesson will strike a chord for readers from many backgrounds, although it vividly expresses the viewpoint of Judaic culture. When Fishes Love Doves follows Adina Greenfeld on her journey from Jewish orthodoxy to the outside world of suburban America. She meets Jack Sutton, a materialistic young man who is not Jewish. Despite their completely different backgrounds, an instant connection sparks. Adina's orthodox grandfather, Zayde, learns of the relationship and feels compelled to intervene. Zayde's lesson of fishes and doves falls on deaf ears as Jack and Adina fall in love. Zayde strives to prevent their suffering the consequences of their ill-fated romance. In a climactic moment, Adina faces a serious loss of two of the most important people in her life. Instead of forging ahead into uncharted waters, she makes the choice to return to her orthodox roots. Adina chooses to live with her grandmother, Bubbe, and eventually meets and falls in love with Isaac Steinman. In a well-matched marriage Adina is happy and content until Jack suddenly intrudes on Adina's marital bliss. He is gravely ill and determined to reconnect with Adina despite the fact that she is married. A grand twist of fate awaits Jack, Adina and the reader.
About the Author: Novelist M. Marmer Verhoeff is a talented writer whose first novel, When Fishes Love Doves, ranks as a riveting, moving and emotionally engrossing tale. Although a work of fiction, much of the story contains elements of her neighborhood experiences during the 1960s. As a result, she became inspired to share the Jewish experience of leaving a cloistered urban community for the freedom of suburbia. Verhoeff has crafted a novel that is touching, lovely, beautiful, romantic, thrilling, and perhaps on a certain level, miraculous. Beyond her writing, Verhoeff has been a registered nurse since 1979, with a subspecialty in oncology and HIV. She also worked in functional medicine. Her experiences as a nurse afforded her many opportunities to witness the human condition. Verhoeff's great passions are needlecrafts, reading, music, and of course, writing. She is a happily married and working on her second novel.