Lane Igoudin

Author talk, Father’s Day interview, and more

It’s shaping up to be a pretty packed summer. On Tuesday, June 9, I am giving a public talk at the JCC in Long Beach about our family journey which intersects so many communities and issues. I am including in my presentation insights from cultural and religious texts, reading from my book, signing – itContinue reading “Author talk, Father’s Day interview, and more”

Speaking at a Temple Beth Am / IKAR event

I had some pretty big shoes to fill last night. My talk about raising adoptive kids Jewish was scheduled alongside four others, immediately following a plenary featuring LA’s two most distinguished rabbis: Rabbi Elliot Dorff and Rabbi Sharon Brous. I was nervous, but I came prepared with an assortment of sources from classical Jewish textsContinue reading “Speaking at a Temple Beth Am / IKAR event”

At the Long Beach LGBTQ Center Library opening

Thrilled to be part of the opening of the Center’s new Booher Library. The event called “Pride in the Pages” included 9 authors. We read, we talked, we signed books, we all had a good time! Glad to see now a central place for LGBTQ literature in our large, diverse hometown.

My latest JJ article rediscovers a forgotten Jewish kingdom

My article uncovers the spectacular rise and fall of a once flourishing Jewish kingdom of Himyar in southern Arabia. It appears on p. 24 of the Jewish Journal in print (April 17-23, 2026, p. 24) and online, The story carries a particular resonance today as in some ways, it echoes the ongoing conflict in theContinue reading “My latest JJ article rediscovers a forgotten Jewish kingdom”

On It’s Both

“Three Years in the Maybe” is the title of the episode in which therapist Nikki Piispanen is interviewing me on her podcast It’s Both: Living in the Messy Middle. It’s Both is described as: “Top 5% podcast globally. For people exhausted by the pressure to pick one feeling, one answer, one way forward. We exploreContinue reading “On It’s Both”

Reviewing a unique memoir, The Shochet, in Tablet

The Shochet, (Touro U. Press, 2023-2025), is a rare, complex, and important document of life in the Pale of Settlement in the late 19th – early 20th century. I came across the book by accident and felt a particular affinity for it when it mentioned the shtetl near the Ukrainian / Bessarabian border where my grandparents wereContinue reading “Reviewing a unique memoir, The Shochet, in Tablet”

On The Making of Me

A reflective conversation on The Making of Me, a podcast focused on personal growth and life-shaping moments. This is also my first interview in Nigeria! Listen at https://apple.co/4lOR9Qb . If you’ve ever considered adoption, especially through the foster system, this candid conversation with Lane Igoudin, author and adoptive parent, will inspire and inform you. Lane sharesContinue reading “On The Making of Me”

“How do working writers manage parenthood?”

Thrilled to be part of Pen Parentis’s recent “Fluid Boundaries” Salon – a panel of writers who are also parents! How do working writers manage parenthood?In Pen Parentis Spring 2026 Season Opener “FLUID BOUNDARIES,” successful authors address issues of work-life balance, writing craft, and current publishing landscape, and read excerpts from their works. Taped FebruaryContinue reading ““How do working writers manage parenthood?””

Speaking about Jewish parenting values

Jewish parenting values I learned throughout our foster-adoptive family journey was the central theme of my talk at the historic Temple Beth El of San Pedro, California. I had a lot to share and quite a few sources to bring in. Here are just a couple of Midrashic soures on the Jewish view of adoption.Continue reading “Speaking about Jewish parenting values”

Reading at SWM Writers’ Showcase

I read “Of Love and Borscht” at the SWM Writers Showcase, a 2-hour show of local writers in Palos Verdes last weekend. My oddball piece, an essay based on a chapter from A Family, Maybe and republished by the food blog One Potato, fit in well with a line-up that ranged from speculative fiction toContinue reading “Reading at SWM Writers’ Showcase”