Love, Loss, and Legacy: Roni Robbins on Family and Resilience

Sponsored by Harford County Health Department

In this episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett, Rich is joined by award-winning journalist and author Roni Robbins to explore her powerful novel, Hands of Gold. Roni shares the incredible story of her grandfather, whose resilience through the Holocaust, a workplace shooting, and personal tragedies inspired her fictionalized account of his life. Together, they discuss themes of love, family, perseverance, and the importance of preserving history. This heartfelt conversation delves into the impact of past generations on shaping our present and highlights the relevance of these stories in today’s world.

This episode is proudly sponsored by the Harford County Health Department, promoting healthier lifestyles through their Diabetes Prevention Program. Visit harfordcountyhealth.com to learn more.

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Transcript

Rich Bennett 0:00
Thanks for joining the conversation where we explore the stories and experiences that shape our world. I'm your host, Rich Bennett. Today, I'm excited to welcome Rodney Robbins and then an award winning journalist and author. Rodney brings 36 years of experience in journalism and has written for prominent outlets like the Atlanta Journal, Constitution and Medscape. We'll be diving into her novel Hands of Gold, a powerful story inspired by her grandfather's resilience through challenges like anti-Semitism and war. Harry, for her work, reflects the strength of the human spirit, and I'm thrilled to explore her. Wait a minute. You know what I'm sorry, Ronnie. Some just hit me. 

Roni Robbins 0:43
What's that? 

Rich Bennett 0:44
36 years in journalism. 

Roni Robbins 0:47
I'm old. That was right out of college. Sorry. Yeah, that. I know, I. 

Rich Bennett 0:52
I was going to say, would you do start writing when you were five? 

Roni Robbins 0:55
Well, I appreciate the compliment, but no, I'm in my fifties. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:01
Women. Now they're saddled. 

Roni Robbins 1:02
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 1:03
If that's old, then I'm ancient. 

Roni Robbins 1:05
I'm closer to the the top number than the bottom number. So you. 

Rich Bennett 1:11
You know what? 

Roni Robbins 1:11
I'm not lying. It's 36 years. 

Rich Bennett 1:14
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 1:15
And I just had four high school or something. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:19
So I want to dive right into the book. What 

Roni Robbins 1:23
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:23
actually inspired you to transform your grandfather's life story into hands of gold? And how did you decide which parts of his journey to focus on? 

Roni Robbins 1:36
So I, I mostly focused on his life in Europe and in America. I mean, it was pretty much his whole life, really. 

Rich Bennett 1:46
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:48
But there were about five rememberance hands of gold. So five fingers, I will say, of what inspired me to write his story. And that is there was a love story. They were married. My grandparents were married for 60 years and died on the date of each other a year apart. 

Pointed out to me that they were exactly the same year. They were exactly the same age because he was a year younger and he died a year later. So. So there was there was that. And I love. 

Rich Bennett 2:22
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 2:23
I mean, I love the the the I the the romance of that of dying on the exact same date. Like he couldn't handle that date, that it was just too powerful for him and he needed to go and join her, you know. And so there was the love story, the six year love story. There was then my grandfather had survived tuberculosis, which is the most it's the deadliest infectious disease. It wasn't COVID. It's it's tuberculosis that's still the deadliest infectious disease in the world. And he was a clinical trial patient for an experimental treatment that's still used today, which is streptomycin. So that was like part of history changing history. So that's two. He was involved in a workplace shooting in which he talked to the gunman. But in my memory, it's fiction. So I played further on that and showed where he not only talked to the to the shooter, but he saved people. And much of this is based on truth. There was an article about that in the paper at that time in 1958 in the New York Daily News, where I ended up writing four years later. 

Rich Bennett 3:34
Why? 

Roni Robbins 3:35
So let's see. Where are we for? He accidentally killed somebody. And of course, he lost most of his family in the Holocaust. 

And yeah, so the Holocaust factors into the story in a few different ways. So there there's a lot of fingers and lots of branches into this story. But those were some of the main ones that really sparked my interest in writing about this ordinary man who happened to be my grandfather, who was doing some amazing things, in my opinion. But everyone. 

Rich Bennett 4:14
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 4:15
Story. You know, everyone has a story, but. 

Rich Bennett 4:17
Oh, yeah. 

Roni Robbins 4:17
Life was tough back then. We have a bunch of whiners today who complain about life is tough, but I don't think it was as tough as it was 

Rich Bennett 4:27
Oh, 

Roni Robbins 4:27
back 

Rich Bennett 4:27
no. 

Roni Robbins 4:28
then. They were fighting for their lives. 

Rich Bennett 4:31
Exactly. 

Roni Robbins 4:32
And. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 4:34
All right. I have to ask you this. The Trump the one thing you said and you chuckled a little bit afterwards when you said he accidentally killed someone. 

Roni Robbins 4:43
So he was a I don't want to give everything away, but he was a. 

Rich Bennett 4:47
No, no. 

Roni Robbins 4:48
Trolley driver and somebody ran in front of him, so. And then in the story, he he has to deal. There's a lot of guilt and a lot of baggage that he has to carry around with him from from coming here during escaping, in essence, the Holocaust and the rest of his family being there to die and him not doing enough or feeling like he did enough. The survivor's guilt, you know, And then, you know, how do you deal with an accident where you know, somebody is killed? I mean, it happens. 

Rich Bennett 5:25
Right. 

Roni Robbins 5:26
So, you know, when he had to deal with their, you know, try to help the family and all, so. 

Rich Bennett 5:34
Why? Why did you decide to make it a fiction? 

Roni Robbins 5:37
To protect them. The the family that was 

Rich Bennett 5:41
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 5:41
alive still was. Most of it was. And because I felt like some of the scenes could be a little bit more dramatic than they actually were, like I pointed out about the workplace shooting. He spoke to the gunman, but I thought he could also be a hero. So I wanted that. I played with some other, you know, different things about secrets that the family was keeping, you know, dirty laundry. I, I definitely touched on everything I could, you know, to make it more dramatic. But also, I changed all the names to protect 

Rich Bennett 6:17
Right. 

Roni Robbins 6:17
the innocent, although they know who. 

Rich Bennett 6:20
It's like a dragnet show. It's. 

Roni Robbins 6:23
But they know who they are. But 

Rich Bennett 6:25
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 6:25
for, you know, I didn't want to offend anyone, which I or I know I did. But some people are like, Oh, it's fiction. And some people are like, oh, this feels really real. And you shouldn't maybe have touched on that or that's that wasn't maybe respectful. 

Rich Bennett 6:42
Yeah, but it's it's porn. Well, it's definitely pulling readers in because you've already gotten awards for it having you. 

Roni Robbins 6:48
Well, the awards don't mean that people are drawn in. I think what draws people in is. 

Rich Bennett 6:54
All right, Let me rephrase that. You have a lot of good reviews. 

Roni Robbins 6:57
Yes. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 6:58
About. 

Roni Robbins 6:59
Yes. Yes. It's gotten. News, and it's in the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and it was in the 

Rich Bennett 7:07
Real. 

Roni Robbins 7:07
Jerusalem Post. I'm so glad that you're getting excited about those things 

Rich Bennett 7:12
Oh, yeah, 

Roni Robbins 7:13
because. 

Rich Bennett 7:13
Yeah. Yeah, I am. Because in all honesty, I believe 

that the Holocaust still needs to be taught. People need to know about it. And. 

It's you know, when me personally, I don't know if I could go into the Holocaust Museum. I went into the World War two Museum, and when we went through that one part about the hall, I mean, I just started tearing up. You know, I just started crying because it was it was a sad moment in not in world history in our times, period. But more people need to we can't brush it aside. 

Roni Robbins 7:58
Right. 

Rich Bennett 7:59
Like people try to do with other parts of history. This is something you've got to keep. You've got to learn from it. And I think also keep those that we lost during then, you know, in our memory. 

Roni Robbins 8:12
Absolutely. Absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 8:15
Well, actually. And with that writing this because, I mean, you're you're basically talking about your grandfather, even though it's fiction, it's all this stuff that I'm sure is bringing back memories. What was one of the hardest parts to write for you? 

Roni Robbins 8:32
Well, the Holocaust was hard to write. 

Rich Bennett 8:35
Right. 

Roni Robbins 8:36
You know, writing their death was. 

Rich Bennett 8:39
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 8:40
Was probably the hardest part. You know, it begins and ends in the nursing home. What good 

Rich Bennett 8:48
Mm 

Roni Robbins 8:48
can come 

Rich Bennett 8:49
hmm. 

Roni Robbins 8:49
out of that? I mean, we have a life. We you know, how fulfilling is it going to be? Do you you know, do you get to accomplish what you set out to accomplish? So it's teaching larger lessons about life. 

Rich Bennett 9:04
Mm 

Roni Robbins 9:05
And 

Rich Bennett 9:05
hmm. 

Roni Robbins 9:05
yes, it's very sad. But I also like to point out that it shows perseverance and, you know, family 

celebrations and, you know, it shows what can be accomplished if you put your mind to it, too. You know, they just wanted a better life for their families in America. With all the freedoms we take for granted. But it's hard to. It's it was hard for me to make up a lot of the dialogue, but, you know. So that was definitely a challenge. But 

yeah. Sad. Yes, Sad. Powerful and like. 

Rich Bennett 9:46
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 9:46
And needing to be told and not forgotten. And now what we're seeing in the world shows us that that history repeats itself. We have not solved all of our issues that existed back then. We still 

Rich Bennett 9:59
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 9:59
have war in Israel. We have one in Russia. We have. 

Rich Bennett 10:04
We have war everywhere. It seems like 

Roni Robbins 10:06
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 10:06
it's sad. 

Roni Robbins 10:07
And civil rights and anti-Semitism and, you know, women's rights. All everyone still is fighting for for. 

Rich Bennett 10:16
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 10:17
Quality, which I don't know if we'll ever have, actually. 

Rich Bennett 10:22
And actually given the book's focus on issues like anti Semitism and even health care. 

Roni Robbins 10:28
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 10:29
How do you see these themes playing out in the current global climate? 

Roni Robbins 10:34
What we have heard that the what happened in Israel is a mini holocaust that we that Hamas is repeating. It's interesting because h is a bad letter to begin. And, you know, we see this over and I don't know why, but Hamas and Hezbollah and. And there's a lot of negative names. I'm sorry to. 

Rich Bennett 10:58
I never even thought about that. 

Roni Robbins 11:00
The leaders and these organizations with an agent. Anyway, that's a sidebar, but if you think about it, there's a lot of. 

Rich Bennett 11:08
It's interesting, though. Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 11:10
About others. There are others. But what's going on in Israel is definitely considered a mini holocaust. It's not the numbers, but it's the same concept of not valuing life and seeing people as other and as less than and as, you know, just. 

The ability of of of a human to destroy life because they're not like you or they're less than is the capacity for evil is is there is the same. 

Rich Bennett 11:43
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 11:44
And and people following orders and doing and and you know, really celebrating that is is just, you know, insanity that that evil, evil incarnate. 

Rich Bennett 11:58
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 11:59
So, you know, we didn't think maybe that it existed still. I don't know. We knew that there was anti-Semitism always. My whole life. But, you know, this this was really powerful. So there's that. There's COVID is a reminder of, you know, of of what can happen with infectious diseases. 

Rich Bennett 12:23
Mm. 

Roni Robbins 12:25
Yeah. So history does repeat itself. And these issues are still here. I could not have known when I was writing this. This was way before COVID when I finished this. 

Rich Bennett 12:36
Right? 

Roni Robbins 12:37
So when I finished the book and got it published or my first publisher, I was before COVID, so I didn't know that we'd have COVID. I knew about, you know, we had TB. I didn't know that that Russia would be fighting again. 

Rich Bennett 12:53
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 12:54
You know, and trying to, you know, the borders. I certainly didn't know about what was going to happen in Israel. But it rings familiar, unfortunately. 

Rich Bennett 13:04
Yeah, I actually. How long did it take you to write this? 

Roni Robbins 13:09
Way too long. 

It took me. I tried to figure this out. I always said 20 years. But that's not that's not correct. It didn't take. 

Rich Bennett 13:20
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 13:21
Take me that long. It took 

Rich Bennett 13:22
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 13:22
me about seven years to write it, and then I entered it then and I kept perfecting it. And then and then kept trying to get up a professional publisher, a traditional publisher versus self-publishing, 

Rich Bennett 13:35
Right. 

Roni Robbins 13:35
because I felt I'm healthy. And I also thought I should be able to get a professional publisher, considering that I'm published all 

Rich Bennett 13:45
Well, 

Roni Robbins 13:45
the 

Rich Bennett 13:45
if 

Roni Robbins 13:45
time. 

Rich Bennett 13:45
your background. Yeah, 

Roni Robbins 13:46
I mean, I'm a professionally published writer, just not an author. So I didn't know what was possible, but I was holding out and, you know, and sometimes giving up and saying, fine, then fine, you know, I'll just keep doing my journalism and that's fine. I didn't expect to be an author when I started out anyway. So but I had a lot of rejections. I thought that it was 200 rejections, I would have thought. But when I counted them, there were 50. But I kept all the paperwork because this was before a lot of digital. So 

Rich Bennett 14:20
right. 

Roni Robbins 14:20
yeah, I had paperwork. You know, you sent your book in a in a in an envelope, in a manuscript form, not online when I first started. So. 

Rich Bennett 14:29
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 14:30
All those letters, I don't know to what I kept them for, but I keep. And so, yeah, I counted 5050 rejection, but who knows how many didn't even respond or. But all you need is one. Yes, that's what they. 

Rich Bennett 14:43
Exactly. 

Roni Robbins 14:43
So I got two yeses 

Rich Bennett 14:44
It. 

Roni Robbins 14:45
because I lost my first publisher. So in 2000. So it took me. About seven years to actually write the book to a form where I felt comfortable releasing it. And I was also raising my children and freelancing from home. At that point. So with some big publications. So I don't regret that because I was I found stories that were published in full in the Forbes and Huffington Post, and I was writing for New York Daily News as a correspondent and and WebMD, where I eventually worked. So it all worked out. But I was writing this book for seven years to write it, couple more years to win awards. My first award and then I knew it was ready. And then about nine years before I got a professional publisher, but I wasn't just sitting around, you know, I was I mean, 

Rich Bennett 15:37
Right? 

Roni Robbins 15:37
I was raising my kids at home where I didn't think I could do that as a full time journalist. It's it's not a 9 to 5 job. It's it's a get it done. Tell your you drop story, you know, till the day you 

Rich Bennett 15:49
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 15:49
get it done by deadline or deadlines or all hours whenever a story breaks. So. So I did that. Yep. Took me way a long time. 

Rich Bennett 15:57
But you know what? I'm glad you brought that up because a lot. And this is your first book, right? 

Roni Robbins 16:02
Correct. I'm working on my second one, but in between also freelancing. But I just started. 

Rich Bennett 16:08
Okay. But you've been writing for, well, like like you said, 36 years. And I'm glad you brought the publishing part up because a lot of authors that get in get, you know, get into trying to find a publisher, they get frustrated and give up too easily and they don't even pursue, well, self-publishing or anything. They. Well, I guess you really can't say they're an author yet. They're a writer because it never became a book. But it just goes to show, here you are, you're a well accomplished journalist. You write this awesome book and you had several no's before you finally got there. Yes. 

Roni Robbins 16:52
Several. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:54
Yeah, but then, but, and I just had another author on actually earlier today we were recording and I said, you know, you're going to get several news before you finally get that. Yes. And it's all part of business. And as an author, you it is your business. You're an author printer, you know. Now, is this also going to be or is it in audio form? 

Roni Robbins 17:15
It is not because people ask me it is, but it isn't. If Listen to it. Monotone. My nephew, who is skilled in technology, created a version of it with early A.I.. I'm sure there's improvements. 

Rich Bennett 17:34
Oh, okay. 

Roni Robbins 17:35
It. It doesn't. It lacks. It lacks. 

Rich Bennett 17:39
The emotion. 

Roni Robbins 17:40
And what we would say. SCHMALTZ It's, you know, and yet it it doesn't have any 

personality to it. It's. So. But the question is, if I can make some money, I you know, if the book finally takes off and is consistently selling, then I will definitely do an audiobook because it's expensive to hire somebody to do 

Rich Bennett 18:07
Why 

Roni Robbins 18:07
it. 

Rich Bennett 18:07
don't you do it yourself? Use your voice. 

Roni Robbins 18:12
Well, it's a male voice to begin with is the main character. 

Rich Bennett 18:17
Like I say, Well, you can't use your voice unless you could. Unless you could do a man's. 

Roni Robbins 18:21
I could. 

Rich Bennett 18:22
So how? 

Roni Robbins 18:23
I'm not skilled at the technology of it. So yeah, I 

Rich Bennett 18:28
I never 

Roni Robbins 18:28
could. 

Rich Bennett 18:28
even thought about that part because when it's yeah, when it's a fiction, it's a story. You have to find somebody that. Can do the different characters. Unlike a self-help book or something. 

Roni Robbins 18:40
Yeah, I don't know exactly how that works, but I figure I would pay somebody to do it and basically let them read, you know, it in print it. 

Rich Bennett 18:51
Right. 

Roni Robbins 18:52
It's on Kindle. It's it's the one step I haven't done is audiobook. I do get a lot of requests for that. But you know, if my 

Rich Bennett 19:00
Well. 

Roni Robbins 19:00
book takes off, I definitely want to do it. It probably costs about $1,000. 

Rich Bennett 19:04
I was going to say a lot of times to the publisher, once a week, at least a year. 

Roni Robbins 19:08
Well, it's been three almost. So. 

Rich Bennett 19:11
I mean, when did this come out? 

Roni Robbins 19:13
2022. 

Rich Bennett 19:16
Did. 

Roni Robbins 19:17
Yes. February of 2022. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:19
Why was I think that this book just came out? 

Roni Robbins 19:22
It doesn't matter because you know everyone, when you read a book, you read a book. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:27
Oh, I'm sorry. We may hold up. Back up. What did you just say? It doesn't matter when it came out. 

Roni Robbins 19:33
Not really. 

Rich Bennett 19:34
Thank you. 

Roni Robbins 19:35
Oh, that's what 

Rich Bennett 19:37
No. 

Roni Robbins 19:37
I. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:38
Yes. I mean, I. Oh, I never understood this, but a lot of authors will not if they put out a book, say, five years ago, they will not get on podcasts and talk about it because it was done five years ago. It doesn't matter. Still push your book. How many people will still turn around and pick up the secret or a four? Chicken soup for the Soul. 

Roni Robbins 20:06
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 20:07
You know, those are old books. People are still going to pick them up. 

Roni Robbins 20:10
Right. Right now, I'm. 

Rich Bennett 20:11
Or. 

Roni Robbins 20:12
I'm still promoting it because. 

Rich Bennett 20:14
Good. 

Roni Robbins 20:15
Because it's I people enjoy it. People are being exposed to it, maybe even for the first time. And hardly anyone goes back and says, Now when was this published? Oh, I can't read it, it's three. 

So I think it has more relevance today than it did even when it came out because 

Rich Bennett 20:33
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 20:34
of what's going. 

Rich Bennett 20:34
Oh, yeah. 

Roni Robbins 20:35
And, you know, a lot of us who were who are share of this Amsterdam publishers, largest publisher of Holocaust memoirs in Europe. And so a lot of us, we're told nobody wants to read an immigrant story, even a best seller. You know, even the best sellers among the list get, you know, get told. Nobody cares about immigrant stories. And I got told that even by Publishers Weekly that reviewed me when I won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Quarterfinalist a long time ago, they were like, Yeah, just another immigrant story or something. They had some positive things to say. But, you know, basically, you know, people were tired of immigrant stories back then. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 21:25
I love reading them because again, you learn. 

Roni Robbins 21:29
Yeah. Yes. And so don't listen to even. 

Rich Bennett 21:33
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 21:34
If real big. You know, I could have been I could have stopped right there in my tracks and said, Well. Publishers Weekly says nobody wants to read another Holocaust, know another immigrant story, but that, you know, that might have been timing. And now I think that they would bite their lip and say, you know why people seem very. 

Rich Bennett 21:54
They were wrong. 

Roni Robbins 21:55
Yeah, well, they were wrong then. Maybe it didn't. Maybe that it. It needed to wait. It needed to cook a little bit and. 

Rich Bennett 22:03
Actually are are you seeing sales increasing now because of everything that's going on? 

Roni Robbins 22:09
Because of podcasts like yours and because. 

Rich Bennett 22:13
I didn't think about that part, But look. 

Roni Robbins 22:16
I just got back. Ella. I was visiting my son in L.A., and I did. 

Rich Bennett 22:21
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 22:22
I did a book tour. I did a book talk there. So I still have book talks. 

Rich Bennett 22:28
Good. 

Roni Robbins 22:29
Somebody is coming to me. They said they featured me two years ago when the book came out. Would they or three years ago when the book came out and said, What? I want to be on their program again? And I'm like, Sure. I mean. 

Rich Bennett 22:43
Yes. 

Roni Robbins 22:43
Surprise, surprise. But sure. So, you know, I just got in the Holocaust Museum. I just got in on, you know, in the Jerusalem Post. So, you know, even though a lot happened when the book first came out, some is still happening because I've been. 

Rich Bennett 23:03
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 23:03
Pushing and marketing and people are and word of mouth takes a while. 

Rich Bennett 23:09
Harvey, how is it that it ended up being in the Holocaust Museum? 

Roni Robbins 23:13
A great publisher. The Amsterdam publishers got all of her books in the in the Holocaust Museum gift shop. So. So it's there have got proof but. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 23:25
How is that when you got the news about that? 

Roni Robbins 23:27
It was very exciting. But I also, you know, I make my own news happen. Meaning. 

Rich Bennett 23:33
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 23:33
I'm used to, I'm marketing myself. You know, anyone who gets published today, even by big publishers, you have to do your own marketing. So when I stop paying the expensive fees for my publicist to promote me, I took it on myself. So I. I did also reach out to the publisher, to the Holocaust Museum. So I was already, you know, pushing for that. I'm not sure how much of that was the the publisher. The name of the publisher was impressive to the Holocaust Museum, but I started the process before the publisher made inroads. And I think being with that large publisher has paid off in that way. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 24:19
You have to get it in the World War Two Museum as well than in New Orleans. I mean, it would make sense for it to be there. 

Roni Robbins 24:27
What? 

Rich Bennett 24:27
I just when I was there, I, I, well, I end up spending too much money on books, but 

because I just, I love reading about history and especially I like to call it historical fiction. 

Roni Robbins 24:41
Yes. Yes. It's a circle. 

Rich Bennett 24:43
Yeah, I just love reading that stuff because and I understand why sometimes it can't be considered a, an actual just history book. 

But to me, it's when you're reading books like this, it pulls you in. You're hearing the story and you're learning the same time. 

Roni Robbins 25:03
Right. Right. 

Rich Bennett 25:05
Yeah. Which I love. And I personally, I also think that stuff like this needs to be in all the schools. 

Roni Robbins 25:12
And I would love for it to be. You know, it's not so easy from your. 

Rich Bennett 25:18
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 25:18
God's ears bite, but it doesn't always work that way, even when you try. So World War Two. It's interesting because this is more Holocaust than like the fighting of you know, it's it's more specifically about the Holocaust than World War Two itself, which was just a piece of World War Two, really. But. 

Rich Bennett 25:38
True. 

Roni Robbins 25:39
But it's interesting perspective. Now, this started the interesting thing is that Amazon labels it biographical, literary fiction. There's like they. And Holocaust biographies. So they don't really care that I that it's it's close enough. It's close enough, but it does hurt. 

Rich Bennett 25:58
Yeah, 

Roni Robbins 25:59
And in terms of I think that biographies, straight biographies do better, 

Rich Bennett 26:07
Yeah, 

Roni Robbins 26:07
Holocaust biographies do better in, you know, in terms of sales. I don't know why, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I don't know how you can call it a biography fee if you are writing about people who are no longer alive and that, you know, and if you don't know how they speak or 

Rich Bennett 26:32
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 26:32
I don't know how you can, I did not feel comfortable labeling it biography in that. First of all, I wanted to play with the facts to make it more dramatic. And second of all, I didn't trust that all of it was totally accurate. You know, it gives me some wiggle room to to 

Rich Bennett 26:53
Right. 

Roni Robbins 26:53
play with the facts. I don't know how anyone can label a Holocaust about their family biography, but they do. If they're not, if they weren't there to interview them and are and are just getting the information secondhand. But everyone does it. 

Rich Bennett 27:11
Actually who is beside yourself? Who was one of the first people to read the book that you know. 

Roni Robbins 27:19
My husband probably read it and 

Rich Bennett 27:21
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 27:22
he probably was like. So he he's read it two more times. So but I'll tell you, his initial reading of it was that this is not his kind of book, which was speak for, you know. Yeah, it's not good. So I revised it a lot. My mom may have read it. My sister in law may have read it. She's a big reader. They may have read it, but they might have secretly had the same sort of feeling that it needed to be worked on more. 

Rich Bennett 27:52
Right. 

Roni Robbins 27:53
So I did. I worked on it more. I revised it. And my first publisher. We we after two years of working together and her perfecting it, you know, she got we both got cold feet. Maybe I got cold feet for sure. As we were nearing the publishing process. 

You know, impostor syndrome as effects doctors and such. But. And so I sabotaged myself by saying I wanted to get an LLC to protect myself from anyone who wanted to sue me. And then. And then my publisher proceeded to say, Why do you feel like somebody might sue you? And then she pulled out because of legal concerns. But who? 

Rich Bennett 28:37
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 28:38
A person, the family member who I thought would sue me. We did it. It was a rough patch, but she didn't. She hasn't sued. So far, and I hope he doesn't. Very much, but. The second publisher was like, She'll sue you, not me. Fine, let's continue. So, you know, so I used I gained a better book by having worked with a publisher before publication. And she really, you know, mine edited it and it really made it stronger I think to so. 

Rich Bennett 29:08
What was when you were writing this? Because I already asked you about, I guess the hardest part, but what was the most? 

How can I phrases properly 

The part that was the most fun for you were You're writing this. 

Roni Robbins 29:30
I enjoyed. The writing of the beginning and the ending are probably the strongest. 

Rich Bennett 29:36
Okay? 

Roni Robbins 29:37
Part is harder. And I think that, you know, I always ask people, did you get did you lose it in the middle? Because that's the hardest thing I think about writing a book is keep the momentum going. And and people say no, But I always imagined that they would be, I guess, because what Publishers Weekly said was that it was it lost it in the middle. And again, this was early on, 

Rich Bennett 30:01
Mm hmm. 

Roni Robbins 30:01
but when I was when I won the the Amazon Quarterfinalist Award. So not everyone agreed with with Publishers Weekly. But 

I, I was definitely afraid of what people would say. But as far as writing goes, because I started thinking about it, I'm really a writer more than a journalist. I mean, it goes together because you get paid to write on a regular 

Rich Bennett 30:27
Right. 

Roni Robbins 30:27
basis and you get your articles in print, and I've got a huge ego, so I get to see my name most of the time. When I was an editor for about five years, I didn't as much, although I kept writing, I guess I secretly just still wanted to see my name in print. So I. I love working with words. I love massaging the words and making them lyrical and making them sing on the page and making them move around. You know, I think I took the most care with. That's why it took me so long to. Because I'm a loving. 

Rich Bennett 30:59
Uh huh. 

Roni Robbins 30:59
Perfectionist. No, I'm a lot of a perfectionist, so it slows me down. I was fast when I wrote for daily newspapers. Then I got slowed down by somebody who said, You need to be more descriptive, which helped me, you know? So everything is is what is it? What does it smell like? What does it feel like? What is what what is the senses, you know, awakening all the senses. So I really enjoyed making the the and the beginning and the ending lyrical and just, you know, drawing people in with the literature that is writing, 

Rich Bennett 31:36
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 31:37
you know, as a, as a creative talent. So that was the most fun 

parts of it that were, were not as fun. I think I enjoyed creating the sex scenes between my grandparents just because. But that's. 

Rich Bennett 31:55
I'm sorry. The white. 

Roni Robbins 31:59
What 

Rich Bennett 31:59
You did say what I thought you said. Right? 

Roni Robbins 32:01
did it? 

Rich Bennett 32:01
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 32:02
I was afraid somebody might sue me. 

And this is a story of true life, you know, And, you know, whether you think that that's commercializing a story by adding it, it's really mild. You know, it's not anything X-rated. But, you know, these there were two people, you know, how do people get attracted to each other? So I broke it down. I mean, what if you have a 60 year story at some point and you have five children? Obviously somebody is doing something, 

Rich Bennett 32:34
Right. 

Roni Robbins 32:34
but and you know, what would that what was that like to be a young person, you know, envisioning, you know, them not as your grandparents, but as two young people to 20 year old people and. Attraction. What kind of attraction might they have? How might that work into their relationship? What? 

You know, just just their feelings for each other and the sparks. And there literally are sparks in my story, you know, because it was it was wintertime. And when, you know, sweaters. And so there were literally sparks. So maybe it's cliche, but it worked for me. And it was maybe it was, you know, like too much. But it worked for me, 

Rich Bennett 33:18
I love it. 

Roni Robbins 33:19
you know, that there should be literal sparks when you touch somebody 

Rich Bennett 33:22
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 33:23
and just that that kind of attraction. So I, I know that's horrible to say, but I enjoyed the playfulness that is a relationship that might also include sex, especially when my grandfather would make statements afterwards, like, I don't even know how. I didn't even sleep with her and she's got a baby again. So like, you know, he he definitely was like that. I mean, like, how did that happen? I don't remember that. So. So there's that. 

Rich Bennett 33:54
He was a jokester was. 

Roni Robbins 33:55
Well, he was yes. He had a personality. He had hot spots. You know, he had a. If you know what that word is. You know, he has he had gumption, I guess, is, you know, he he definitely spoke his mind. And it's so there's humor. I'm a funny person, I'm told. I think it's funny that, you know, there's there's one line that I love at the beginning of the book that says and I and it it it actually was almost the title for the book, which is if she told him to tie up loose ends and Meet Me in heaven. And his response to that in his you know, in him talking and giving voice to his thoughts was in the book was you do what you're told if you know what's good for you. You know, that kind of little playful after 60 years of marriage, you do what you're told if you know what's good for you. And 

Rich Bennett 34:50
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 34:50
I think people can relate to that. You know, in a relationship. And and and also I almost named the book Meet Me in Heaven, but it's pretty cliche. So I, I saw that it was already well used out there. So I didn't. Yeah, I didn't use that. 

Rich Bennett 35:06
I'm I'm still blown away from the first thing you said about them being married for 60 years and the dates that they paired so that they. 

Roni Robbins 35:18
But you know, you would. You would think that. Yeah, you would think that that would be unusual. But it's not. It's the same. 

Rich Bennett 35:26
Really? 

Roni Robbins 35:26
Craziness that I'm the third Ronnie in my family, Ronnie Robins. I'm the third and one other with the same exact spelling, first name and a Ronald Robbins in my husband's family. So you're either a Ronnie or you're married. You are Ronnie. Three brothers, right? So, like what? Just the irony. So. And if you put my name together with my husband's name. His name is Ian. You got irony. So irony. Creative tool that you can use. I believe in this, in this, you know, symbolism and irony and. 

Rich Bennett 35:59
Mm hmm. 

Roni Robbins 36:00
And just how things work. You know, how things work in life just meant to be, which we say by share too. I use a lot of Yiddish in the book, but easily easy ones, you know, easy 

Rich Bennett 36:11
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 36:11
ones that most people know, or it's in context because I felt like that was important to to preserve that native language and people don't, 

Rich Bennett 36:20
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 36:21
you know, you get here as an immigrant, you said don't don't use that language, which is also in the book, you know, where somebody went to school and used the wrong word, Yiddish word for spoon. And my grandfather said, it's Google here, but it's not Google in the classroom. So which means like a spoon. So. 

Rich Bennett 36:40
Grupo. 

Roni Robbins 36:41
Bo means spoon in Yiddish, I hope, but. 

Rich Bennett 36:46
You. 

Roni Robbins 36:47
Better be. Nobody's caught me on it yet, so. 

I had to research a lot. But but basically, you know, don't use that SIC that language we use at home in. 

Rich Bennett 36:58
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 36:59
Because they were you know, it was a time of of just assimilation. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 37:05
Actually with your research doing this, what was the biggest thing that you learned that you didn't even know about? 

Roni Robbins 37:15
I am looking at the family tree. Trees that my cousin made. I was shocked that so many of the family, the immediate family, were died in the Holocaust. I was also surprised to learn that my grandfather is the second set of siblings from the same father because the. Yeah, I mean, there's all this stuff. It's fascinating 

Rich Bennett 37:39
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 37:39
reading, but my my, 

my great grandfather was married to a woman and they had a number of kids and then like and then they and then she passed away and my grandfather married the sister. And so my grandfather's siblings are also his cousins. 

Rich Bennett 38:04
While. 

Roni Robbins 38:06
And you wonder 

Rich Bennett 38:07
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 38:07
what? Why there's so much trouble in the gene pool of the Jewish population. You know, we have a bunch of cancers and stuff because they were so insular and worried about marrying outside the faith that that they married in this way. So it also draws up a Bible story where that one dies and then the other marries the. It was like a tradition to marry the next the sister. So, you know, Leah, Leah and Rebecca. Mm. I think it's so Jacob and his wives. He won. He was pining after the younger Rachel, Rachel and Leah. He was pining after the younger one, but first had to marry the older one. So there's all these Bible stories. So. But, you know, apparently they happened. So this is what. 

Rich Bennett 39:02
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 39:02
So I was surprised to hear some of these facts. 

Rich Bennett 39:05
Wow. Sure. Next year, something else I wanted to ask you. Because of you being a journalist, are you writing this which is fiction? How hard was. And correct me if I'm wrong, but it's right. The writing technique is different, right? 

Roni Robbins 39:20
Correct? Yes. 

Rich Bennett 39:22
How hard was that? 

Roni Robbins 39:23
Very hard, especially to make up the dialogue. 

Rich Bennett 39:26
Right. 

Roni Robbins 39:27
Yet what would they have said to each other at the time? How would people speak to each other? That was hard. I think I wrote the whole book and then went back and added dialogue. You know, that's why it took me a long time to because I'm used to it. I used whatever I had from quotes from the the so my grandfather left cassette tapes of his life. I forgot to say this, and my mother gave me the cassette tapes. So that was the basis and that was the interview that I'm used to. And then I did a lot of research and I found the facts to fill in all the gaps to me to make the story move along. But I did a lot of research before everything was online, so before ancestry.com. And so I went to 

Rich Bennett 40:09
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 40:09
National Archives and and I went to the Family History Center. Mormons have Family History 

Rich Bennett 40:18
Mm hmm. 

Roni Robbins 40:18
Center. So I did a lot of research to fill in the gaps. 

Rich Bennett 40:21
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 40:22
But yes, navigating into fiction. Just the hardest part was making up dialogue, making up lines. And figuring out what they might say to each other. But in that way, that's why I don't understand how how if you don't have somebody to interview in front of you, how you can do biography. But I just I'm not skilled enough to feel or feel comfortable because, you know, as a journalist to to say that it's a biography and not and and I don't know how you make it interesting to people if it's. That's because mine was not going to stand alone just just 

Rich Bennett 41:00
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 41:01
in that drive. In that way, it needed dialogue to to move things along for me. 

Rich Bennett 41:07
What's your favorite part of the book? 

Roni Robbins 41:10
Like I said, the beginning and the ending. And if I had to pick 

Rich Bennett 41:13
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 41:14
one, I would say the ending. I found a way to to the facts. Worked with with what how I wanted to present it. So there was a lot there was spirituality in in in those moments. There was there was some of that in the beginning of the novel, too. And also remember, I also knew them for many. 

Rich Bennett 41:41
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 41:42
So I knew some of what I could use in the novel. But the ending is very, very powerful as it should be, and that's the last thing that you leave them the reader with. You know, they should walk away going, Huh? Or most people will say, they cry, they cry, they sob for 2 hours before they can write to me, you know? So if if my writing is that powerful, that it brings out that emotions, that's exactly what I was hoping for. I want them to laugh. I want them to cry. I want the reader to experience something I want. I've had people say that it feels like you're in the same room with somebody telling you a story, you know, telling you, sitting at there near them and listening to their life story. But I. I want them to feel the emotions that they. Of the experience of having a life together. 

Rich Bennett 42:38
Actually. How many times did you laugh and cry while writing this? 

Roni Robbins 42:43
Well, that's like saying, how funny do I think I am? Which is, you know how funny? 

I've been told I'm funny, but more recently, I mean, it's just about timing, you know, it's. 

Rich Bennett 42:55
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 42:55
About in terms of my my son is studying comedy in turn it's about. 

Rich Bennett 43:01
Really? 

Roni Robbins 43:01
Yeah, he's an actor out in L.A., so hopefully. 

Rich Bennett 43:04
Oh. 

Roni Robbins 43:04
Some point he'll bring my book to the public in that way. But you know, he knows that's his that's my goal for him if he's going to be. Because, you know, they don't make any money to begin with. So but, you know, it's a group effort here. And he enjoyed. He's 26 and he enjoyed the book for, you know, most of the. 

Rich Bennett 43:28
Good. 

Roni Robbins 43:29
So. So I would say that, 

you know, I, I did enjoy writing it and I. And I. And I, I. The comedy and the the the the the tears. I knew if I. If, if, if I cried that. Well, I hope that, you know, that's not very nice. I hope that if I was crying they were crying because they would feel bad about. 

Rich Bennett 43:57
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 43:58
And do I think I'm funny? 

I didn't want it to be. It's really depressing to think about, you know, death and disease and holocaust and losing people. But it's awfully fun to think about romance and. 

Rich Bennett 44:14
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 44:15
And into playfulness. And. And. And how to make fun of your own religion. 

Rich Bennett 44:26
The thing is, I've been telling my sister to speak because families, there are a lot of stories. And thank God you had taken them and written them down. And I think that's something that a lot of families need to do because that history from back then. A lot of us are going to forget about. 

Roni Robbins 44:47
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 44:48
I mean, how often you should. I'm sorry. How many kids do you say? Five that you have? 

Roni Robbins 44:53
No, I have. He 

Rich Bennett 44:54
Oh, 

Roni Robbins 44:54
had five. He had five. 

Rich Bennett 44:56
he had 

Roni Robbins 44:56
They 

Rich Bennett 44:56
five. 

Roni Robbins 44:56
they had 

Rich Bennett 44:57
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 44:57
lost it. 

Rich Bennett 44:58
Okay. Okay. 

Roni Robbins 45:00
I mean, they they had a grown son that died of leukemia, so they had to go through that, too. But I have to I just have to. 

Rich Bennett 45:09
Okay. But even growing up and when your two children were growing up, how often would you all just sit around a table and tell stories about the family, the grandparents, great grandparents and all that? 

Roni Robbins 45:24
You know, we didn't 

Rich Bennett 45:24
You 

Roni Robbins 45:24
have 

Rich Bennett 45:25
know. 

Roni Robbins 45:25
Holocaust stories to sort of be. 

Rich Bennett 45:27
Well, you don't want to. 

Roni Robbins 45:28
Have 

Rich Bennett 45:28
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 45:28
a secret language that we were keeping from our kids. But 

Rich Bennett 45:31
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 45:33
the rituals of Judaism, you know, the different holidays, so many of them 

Rich Bennett 45:39
Mm 

Roni Robbins 45:39
know 

Rich Bennett 45:39
hmm. 

Roni Robbins 45:39
they they got they they learned about their history. My, my, my mom is alive. So I think they they learned. But the thing is. When we're young, we don't care. We don't. We don't even care. We've got our own life. We're building our own life. I don't know. I mean, to me, when I was growing up, yeah, there were some interesting sort of secrets that my grandparents were keeping from me, from us. You know, they talk in this secret language, so. And they hardly ever mention the Holocaust. Yet we knew that they went through it. So we would 

Rich Bennett 46:15
Right? 

Roni Robbins 46:15
we would have school projects. I think school projects where you interview your grandparents is very important. My kids did it, too. 

Rich Bennett 46:21
Uh huh. 

Roni Robbins 46:23
And then you can learn this book is if they didn't ask. Too bad. I'm telling you, 

Rich Bennett 46:30
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 46:30
you know, like, so this is their this is my what? You know, some people can do this just to have something to pass on to their children. And I encourage that. I say, you know, this is this is something you can do. You can tape your relatives. We've taped other relatives. You can have their voice. I hope you listen to it. I hope you learn their lessons. They can teach you a lot about who you are. 

Rich Bennett 46:55
Right. 

Roni Robbins 46:56
I certainly learned a lot about myself that I didn't appreciate until I saw what my grandparents went through. 

Rich Bennett 47:03
Yeah. Tell everybody listening why they need to buy. Hands of God. Our hands of gold. I'm sorry. 

Roni Robbins 47:10
No. That's a that's a definite slip. And it could easily be that 

Rich Bennett 47:16
Right. 

Roni Robbins 47:17
this that I'm wearing is a is a hand of gold. So and it's also 

Rich Bennett 47:23
Oh. 

Roni Robbins 47:23
some people might say it's a hands of God. It's called a Hamsa. It's a good luck charm. So you'll have to look that up if you're not viewing me. But but that's my little calling card, too. When people say, Oh, that's pretty, and I'll be like, hands of gold. So. But hands of God, it could easily be hands of God. By the way, it's an easy slip, so. 

Where. Where they can. Or why they should buy the book. Why they should buy the book? Well, to learn about a period of time that they didn't know about to take you back in history and learn about your own ancestors, regardless of where they're from. Most people came from a different but are descended from immigrants of some sort. So if you're just so if you're descended from immigrants, if you if you grew up in New York, if you know any Jewish people, if you you know, if your parents if your if your ancestors struggled in their life to provide a better life for you, these are all ways in which my book will speak to you and resonate with you. So I think it's important to learn the history so that it can't be repeated, but it's already been repeated. So maybe we need to hit people over the head with it yet again and say, if you don't learn from your mistakes, the history will repeat itself. I don't know how to stop evil in the world. 

It exists. 

Rich Bennett 48:58
If anybody did, it would be it would be going. 

Roni Robbins 49:02
Hatred. Otherness, whatever you want to say. I don't you know, people are very into their own selves and thinking that, you know, that they're better than 

Rich Bennett 49:13
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 49:14
than somebody else, I think. And, you know, maybe keep it to yourself, I guess, and not act on it. Would be the 

Rich Bennett 49:23
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 49:23
way to go. But this book can teach you a lot about what our families went through and learn to appreciate your own life and the all the ease you have in your own life as an American. You know, and stop complaining about your life because other people before you had it much worse and they, you know, so I think there's a lot of learning to be done, what you can do with your life, even as a regular person. This is just an every day hero and everyday person who existed at that time. And people should walk away and say, I need to interview my own ancestors to to really appreciate my life and appreciate who I am. And so that those are some of the tidbits also to be entered. 

Rich Bennett 50:09
Right? 

Roni Robbins 50:09
Then to to love, to feel the love, to see what love can can accomplish in the world. Family life and why that's so important. The preservation of languages. There's so much in this book that can be 

Rich Bennett 50:25
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 50:26
gained if people will give it a chance. And and I and I hope they do, and also tell other people about it, because my whole goal is to get more hands of gold in hands of gold in people's gold in hand. 

Rich Bennett 50:39
I love that. I love that. Something very important. Tell everybody your website and how they can get in touch with you and get the book. 

Roni Robbins 50:46
So it's WAFB debris that Ronnie Ravenscroft They have to spell my name right because it's a little tricky. It's r when I r obedience. So I am I have Ronnie Robbins dot com is my website. You can find almost everything you could ever possibly want to know. Book clubs. Questions for book clubs. Where I'll be next in terms of touring with the book, you know, because I've gone to a number of states with the book in the United States and 

all the articles that I've written are there, all the articles 

Rich Bennett 51:24
Good. 

Roni Robbins 51:24
that have been written about the book, all the appearances or any media podcasts. So anything you can possibly want to know. I'm also all over social media. I've got four Facebooks, two Twitters, an Instagram and Tik Tok on the right. And my son did my Tik tok, my daughter did my Instagram or helps me with it, I should say, at LinkedIn. So some of those are because as a woman, I existed before Ronnie Robbins, I was Ronnie Kane. Robbins. K Any links me with sort of. My next book is based on my is based loosely based on my dad's life. So I'm going from Graham. I'm going down the chart there. I'm you know, I've got grandfather to father. I seem to write like to write about men in my family as strong, young, interesting men. Maybe somebody you'll think that it doesn't have to be a man and write about me or. 

But so I. So I have several Facebooks because two of them are for the book. One is for Rodney Robbins, one is for Rodney Kane. Robbins And and I didn't know how to create a Facebook for a book. So there's a book and then there's a page. There's a Facebook, Facebook and then there's a Facebook page says, I live and learn. So I just have all these. And then two of. Dan because I started a LinkedIn as a professional. I'm just for my writing, for my journalism. Other than that, I just have one for each of the other ones. I think. 

Rich Bennett 53:08
When in the world do you find time for your just for you? 

Roni Robbins 53:13
No, I. I go to synagogue every Saturday. I'm the usher at my synagogue, which is great. 

Rich Bennett 53:18
Okay. 

Roni Robbins 53:19
Hate to tell you for marketing, because people know me and sometimes they forget I'm a journalist. I'm just an author now, which is neat. So because that's maybe the newest more exciting thing that they introduced me as an author. And I'm like, I was a journalist for way longer. I started. And but, you know, they're supportive. So I do that every Saturday morning and every Sunday morning. I work out for 3 hours because I'm insane. And and I'm a weekend warrior and it's the one time I can do it. You're having a great all time over there thinking I'm hilarious. 

Rich Bennett 53:53
You're. You are awesome. 

Roni Robbins 53:55
You are awesome to. 

Rich Bennett 53:58
I just. I'm amazed 

Roni Robbins 53:59
Cracking 

Rich Bennett 54:00
by 

Roni Robbins 54:00
up. And 

Rich Bennett 54:00
you. 

Roni Robbins 54:00
I'm not even trying to be funny. See how that works. 

Rich Bennett 54:05
Oh, wow. 

Roni Robbins 54:05
Yeah, it's real life. Tears and every 

Rich Bennett 54:08
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 54:08
think I'm going to. 

But because that's been very endearing to me. Thank you. But yes, I'm a weekend warrior. 3 hours on a spin bike and. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 54:22
3 hours straight. 

Roni Robbins 54:24
3 hours straight because I'm alone. 

Rich Bennett 54:26
Holy cow. 

Roni Robbins 54:27
And then I'm done for the week. You know that 150 minutes. I take that very seriously. Yes. Yes. I'm a lunatic. Definitely. I am not your norm. Nor you know when you say it took you nine or 20 years to get a professional publish or however you want to, you know, from start to finish, you're already seeing that I'm I'm in insane. 

Rich Bennett 54:51
I'm just working up a sweat thinking of you doing the spin bike for 3 hours. 

Roni Robbins 54:55
Okay. But remember, I'm I'm. I was guided by my grandfather, who did a lot. 

Rich Bennett 55:01
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 55:01
In his you know, in his life and changed. People are amazed how many times they change their home. You know, they went 

Rich Bennett 55:07
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 55:08
from two different homes in different states and, you know, you can do a lot in your life. You know, I'm not saying I and I do still get 6 hours of sleep most of the time, which you probably I'm think I'm supposed to get I try to get seven and a half, but I don't. Yeah, I am I am a producer. I am I my dad said do something constructive and I have not stopped doing that. You know, any wasted time. You know, I don't take a lot of vacations lately. We. 

Rich Bennett 55:40
That's how you stay looking so young. 

Roni Robbins 55:42
Is that right? I appreciate 

Rich Bennett 55:44
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 55:44
that. That was an extra little compliment. 

Rich Bennett 55:49
Actually, before I get to my last question, is there anything you would like to add? 

Roni Robbins 55:54
I mean, I think we've covered it so much, but. 

Rich Bennett 55:58
Almost. 

Roni Robbins 55:58
Yeah. Almost. Okay. By my book. 

Now may take the book to a new level. It's on Amazon, it's everywhere. Books are sold. And Barnes and Noble Books-A-Million Target. Walmart. 

Rich Bennett 56:12
Everywhere. 

Roni Robbins 56:13
Really everywhere you can buy a book, it's available. But I you know, I'm I hope that people enjoy it. I hope they write to me and tell me I try to tell them, you know, stay in touch with me. Tell your friends about it. You know, I'm available for speaking engagements. I'll make you laugh and I'll make you cry. You know, it's a little comedy routine. 

Rich Bennett 56:38
She will. 

Roni Robbins 56:38
Not really trying to do it because real life is the funniest thing. Real life. Jewish family life. My, you know, it's. 

Rich Bennett 56:46
You have to laugh. 

Roni Robbins 56:48
You have to laugh. 

Rich Bennett 56:49
Laughter's the best medicine. 

Roni Robbins 56:50
Too much sadness in the world. And 

Rich Bennett 56:52
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 56:53
but, you know, timing of it, you know, and just really telling it like it is, maybe that's a New York thing, You know, tell it like it is and then figure out if you've offended anyone later. I don't know. No, let's not we you need to keep it in check for sure. But you know, try not to offend anyone. And if you do, make it small potatoes not. 

Rich Bennett 57:15
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 57:16
Like a whole nationality or something, but. But I, you know. God has been good to me. I think we need to appreciate that things happen for a reason, even though people are like 20 years, you know, or, you know, so. Yeah. Because, you know, I didn't want to give up and this is the result of it. So don't give up on your dreams because, you know, people like, oh, I'm, you know, I'm old. No, you're not. You're not. Well, I. 

Rich Bennett 57:47
Just the number. 

Roni Robbins 57:48
Yeah, you can do anything. I'm starting on another book. You know, I guess I'm back doing daily newspapering. Who knew that was going to happen? I mean, I'm doing it from home. Freelancing back then. Used to be a negative. Now everyone freelances. Everyone 

Rich Bennett 58:04
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 58:04
works from home. But, you know, it's interesting how life changes in that way. 

Rich Bennett 58:09
I had a young lady on and she was she's just she's proof that age is just the number 101 years old and writing another book. 

Roni Robbins 58:19
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 58:20
101. 

Roni Robbins 58:21
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 58:22
And she has a trainer she trains every day because my co-host said, how is it that you just you know, your routine, you stay so anxious because I have a trainer. 

Roni Robbins 58:34
For exercise. 

Rich Bennett 58:36
Yes. To help 

Roni Robbins 58:37
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 58:38
discharge? 

Roni Robbins 58:38
All right. 

Rich Bennett 58:39
No. 

Roni Robbins 58:39
Yeah. I think it's important. It gives you if you eat right. I mean, I'm a big proponent. 

Rich Bennett 58:44
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 58:44
REPORTER two So, but I live it. I mean, I'm a lifetime weight watcher. I've been heavy. I, I. And now I just realize how if you keep yourself healthy, maybe 3 hours on on Sunday is insane, but it gets it in and and then, you know, I'm good for the week, and I don't have to feel bad guilt of it. And I can work, you know, and effectively and not have to worry about Oh yeah you also need to work out. 

Rich Bennett 59:15
Right. 

Roni Robbins 59:16
So I feel like that eating healthy is is its own reward and also exercising, too, because I sit a lot. I do. And my body is showing the signs of my knees, you know, showing. 

Rich Bennett 59:31
Oh. 

Roni Robbins 59:32
Sitting a lot. So it'll catch up to you. Mm. 

Rich Bennett 59:36
It does. And. Well, that that's a whole. 

Roni Robbins 59:41
Yeah, it sure is. But. But I mean, health is. Health is part of my my story. It's a big part of my life, too. So. 

Rich Bennett 59:50
It makes you feel so much better when you eat right and exercise. And actually, when we're done, I'm going to have to go outside and do my walk. Either that or the elliptical is looking at me. I might just. Look, I'm. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:04
No guilty or no jury. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:05
Guinness was sitting next to my elliptical, a spin bike. 

You know what the funny thing is? The TV is there, but I have it unplugged. Because I'll I'll listen to a podcast or whatever when I'm on the. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:20
I think it gives you energy to do all the rest of the stuff that you need. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:23
Yeah. Oh, it does. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:25
My husband does it and he's a carbon holic, but I don't know. He doesn't get very much sleep. And I really like my sleep. He. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:32
Also to. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:33
Yeah. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:35
Those of you listening when you when you purchase hands of gold and actually after you read the book, you're going to want to purchase some for your friends as well. Make sure you leave a full review. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:48
Oh, yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:00:49
Whether it be our good reads Barnes Noble's Amazon. I think Walmart you can leave reviews now too, I think. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:55
I think. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:57
But either way, make sure you do a full review. 

Roni Robbins 1:00:59
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:00
As I said before, it's going to drive the algorithms up and make people see it more. 

Roni Robbins 1:01:04
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:05
My last question for you. I believe I know what he would say. But what do you think your grandfather would say if he read this book? 

Roni Robbins 1:01:16
So he actually said in the tapes, if somebody wanted to do something with this, so be it. You know, somebody wanted to do something with my words, so be it. So I saw that as a calling to me to do something with the book because I was the only professional writer at the time. Now I have cousins that have emerged as writers, but that was not their professional career like mine was. So I took it as he's talking directly to me. You know, like sometimes when your pastor 

Rich Bennett 1:01:46
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:01:46
or your rabbi is talking and you're like, that me? Is that me? He calls, he's calling out, which has happened in my life, you know. But I. I think he would be proud, but I think he might have issues with. 

Like where he would say, you know what, That wasn't my intention. Or, you know, how come you made your grandmother look so, you know, appear so sexy and maybe you should. He would definitely not like the sex scenes because. You know, quiet about that kind 

Rich Bennett 1:02:19
Right. 

Roni Robbins 1:02:19
of. You know, not like today's era where where people are all out front with everything. You know, they were very discrete. So that same concept of I don't even think I had sex with her or, you know, I don't even know if he would say sex. I don't I didn't know I was they would say bad. Like, I didn't 

Rich Bennett 1:02:40
Uh huh. 

Roni Robbins 1:02:40
I wasn't even in the same bed as her, you know, like they would keep it like that. I think he might have, you know, issues with some of it. And he would definitely tell me, you know, this is wrong and that's wrong. You know, this wasn't like union. That was not right. That that 

Rich Bennett 1:02:55
Right. 

Roni Robbins 1:02:56
that didn't happen like that. And I will say, I know it's fiction, Grandma. I took it as a calling. It's his fault. He told me to do it. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:07
I love that it's his fault. 

Roni Robbins 1:03:08
Now. You know nothing bad about it. They were love. They were so great, you know. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:13
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:03:14
You have to respect the grandparents. But. But. I. He sort of I saw it as him asking me to do it. I'm sure he meant for somebody else to do it. I'm I'm almost positive. I was like I was not the designated one, but so be it. I did it and, you know, and then let all the, you know, let it fall where it may. So 

I hope. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:41
I think. 

Roni Robbins 1:03:41
I hope. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:42
I think you would definitely say how proud he. 

Roni Robbins 1:03:44
I'm my mom, I hope. I think my mom is proud of me. So that's the next best thing to him. And, you know, there might have been other things that are, you know, that weren't as what he wanted was his intention. But overall, people are you know, he got his story out. You don't know, maybe he wouldn't have wanted that. I don't know. He did it for a reason. He wanted the grandkids to hear it, to hear the stories, because that was the that was the initial goal was he was given a cassette tapes to take his mind off his wife being ill and also to leave something behind for his children that they want to know the stories. And so that in that way it got accomplished, because I don't know that people would sit there and listen to the tapes, nor were they exposed to the tapes. And it has brought the family together. I really think, you know, people at the cousins have called me and reached out to me and and and recognized and said, you really captured him. That's exactly what he was like. So. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:47
Make sure you get those tapes converted over to to MP3. 

Roni Robbins 1:04:51
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:51
That way you can share your generations on down, can keep sharing them because that's where you are. You see it because I have cassette tapes now, it's hard to find a cassette player. 

Roni Robbins 1:05:03
We still have my husband. We have one. We have 

Rich Bennett 1:05:06
I 

Roni Robbins 1:05:07
one. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:07
think 

Roni Robbins 1:05:07
I 

Rich Bennett 1:05:07
I. 

Roni Robbins 1:05:07
take it on my book talks. It's a part of. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:09
I think I still have I might even still have my eight track player. I mean. 

Roni Robbins 1:05:14
Yeah, people love it. People love it when I say these are cassette tapes. Does anyone remember cassette tapes? 

Rich Bennett 1:05:20
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:05:20
Most of my crowd are knowing so that, you know, it brings back a little nostalgia and a little, you know, a little bit pop culture. And the young people are like, What in the world is that? 

Rich Bennett 1:05:32
What are the things I I'll never forget that I had a young author on one time. She was I think she was in her twenties, and she asked me if this was going to be live. I said, Oh, no, it's not live. It's Memorex. She looked at me, she's like, Huh? 

And then it hit me like she doesn't know what Memorex. 

Roni Robbins 1:05:54
Oh, no. I Xerox around them too. They. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:58
Oh, yeah. They're like. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:02
RAF or something like that. Yeah. When I. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:04
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:05
People that I went to, and I did microfilm and microfiche at the library. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:09
Oh, geez. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:10
They're like, you know, with that little zoomer thing, you know, And you. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:13
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:14
And I mean, that's just amazing. But they they relate. So I'm relating to my audience, which tends to be an older audience. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:24
I remember when my daughter was younger and she asked me if I could make copies for her. She needed copies of paper for work. Of course. Now you don't own a printer. And we're sitting around there talking in a memo. Like we remembered the old ditto machines. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:38
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:39
You could smell the paper. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:40
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:41
She goes white. Ditto machines. Machine. It's where you put the anchor. You roll it. Oh, it smelled. Kids today don't know what they're missin. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:52
They had this blue sheet. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:54
Yes. The carbon copy. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:56
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:57
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:06:57
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:57
Kids don't know what you're missing nowadays. 

Roni Robbins 1:07:00
Love hearing these kind. You know, it brings them I try to ask them questions about, you know, these kind of things, you know, And 

Rich Bennett 1:07:07
Uh huh, 

Roni Robbins 1:07:07
one other thing was that I was in a book talk here with Nikki Haley and 

Rich Bennett 1:07:14
yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:07:14
and 

Andrew Young and and and big name authors, you know, and and then there's me and I try to say something like, I was in a book book festival with some lady who was running for office, Nikki Haley. Anyone hear of her, You know, And then the crowd, you know, is like, that's. 

So, you know, it's a little ego thing, but it's also very funny because, I mean, it's hard for me to believe that I was in this group of distinguished authors and, you know, distinguished people. It always amazes me when when I get an award or I get I mean, you know, that took a lot of work to get into a book festival where big name authors were being featured, including Benjamin Netanyahu is a little busy right now in Israel. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:07
Wow. 

Roni Robbins 1:08:09
He was he was on Zoom or, you know, livestream or something. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:13
Yeah. 

Roni Robbins 1:08:14
So but a lot of big name authors and then me and, you know, I usually say that like that I'll be like this, you know, Jodi Picoult and and Robert Meachem and I'm 

let's see, I'm Robert Oren, I'm sorry. And Jon Meacham and and a bunch of other big names, Melissa Rivers and and then and then and and me and me and Ronnie Robins. Like. Like I don't fit in this. What doesn't fit in this group? 

Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:48
Oh, you fit in perfectly. 

Roni Robbins 1:08:50
And yesterday I was I was some I got labeled as a famous person and I'm like, no, no. Maybe in my. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:59
Oh. 

Roni Robbins 1:08:59
World, but whatever. In my own little anyone who knows me world, I'm famous. So. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:05
Ronnie, thanks so much. 

Roni Robbins 1:09:07
You. This has been so fun. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:09
Thanks. 

Roni Robbins 1:09:09
Really?