Mandi Eizenbaum

Miriam Engel is a 40-something-year-old single woman who has been desperately searching for love and purpose her whole life. Her real story begins some 30 years prior on a high school study-abroad program in Israel, where she decides capriciously to reinvent herself – first by changing her name to Miri. Miri embarks on a series of ambitious exploits – a tumultuous journey upended time and time again by her impulsive decisions. Miri was always popular, smart, confident, and passionate. However, her most endearing qualities are also her most troubling – stubbornness, desire, and easy-going flightiness drive Miri further and further from her genuine dreams. Over the course of several decades, Miri travels around the world in search of true love and purpose while trying to remain rooted to the culture of her proud heritage and her family’s traditions. Miri must endure the disappointments of an abusive marriage and other unpredictable relationships – some that she would grow to treasure forever and some that she would painfully learn to let go. Trapped between family and two very powerful relationships, Miri must find her way through her vague and flighty existence and discover what is really important. An unexpected twist of fate will throw three confused and diverse lives colliding into one tangled mess. It is at this convergence of destinies that Miri is able to come full circle in a world where she had always wished to plant roots but couldn’t seem to find her footing. Strongly influenced and torn by love, devotion, and familial duties, Miri discovers what has been missing in her plans and in her life — the last thing she ever imagines. The answer is Abraham Samuel.

About the Author: 

Mandi has been an educator for approximately 20 years. She studied at the University of Miami, where she received a BA degree in English literature, Judaic studies, and business law. Mandi first traveled to the Middle East in the early 1980s; after graduating from the University of Miami, she moved to Israel and lived there for many years. Mandi started her current career as a middle school teacher when she moved back to the states and earned her master’s degree in English education.

After many years of personal experience in the classroom and traveling abroad, Mandi has unquestionably sharpened her understanding and passion for culture, history, and writing. She is still an avid traveler, and has spent years taking advantage of her summer breaks to visit exotic places all over the world. She also enjoys baseball games, dancing, and shopping. Mandi currently lives in Florida where she teaches middle school English.