His essay collection, Phoning Home (University of South Carolina Press, 2015) won the Eric Hoffer Book Award. His short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, won the 2012 Hudson Prize and was published by Black Lawrence Press in 2014. His first novel, The Man Who Wouldn’t Stand Up, won the 2012 Dundee International Book Award and was published by Cargo. Appel is the author of three literary novels, nine short story collections, an essay collection, a cozy mystery, a thriller and a volume of poetry. The stories capture the author's distinctive voice-a blend of a physician's compassion and an ethicist's constant questioning.Jacob M. We learn of the crank phone calls he made to his own family, the conspicuous absence of Jell-O at his grandaunt's house, and family secrets long believed buried. Shortly thereafter Fat and Thin were lost forever-beginning, when Appel was just six years old, what he calls his 'private apocalypse.'īoth erudite and full-hearted, Appel recounts storylines ranging from a bout of unrequited love gone awry to the poignant romance of his grandparents. I had my two travel companions, Fat and Thin, securely buckled into the backseat of my mother's foul-tempered Dodge Dart,' writes Appel of his family vacation with his two favorite rubber cat toys.

'We'd just visited my grandaunt in Miami Beach, the last time we would ever see her. Appel's recollections and insights, informed and filtered by his advanced degrees in medicine, law, and ethics, not only inspire nostalgic feelings but also offer insight into contemporary medical and ethical issues.Īt times sardonic and at others self-deprecating, Appel lays bare the most private aspects of his emotional life. Phoning Home is a collection of entertaining and thought-provoking essays featuring the author's quirky family, his Jewish heritage, and his New York City upbringing.

Phoning Home by Jacob M. Appel