Sneak preview: Excerpt from ‘Fairy Lights in God’s Backyard: A Jerusalem Love Story'

An excerpt from Sarah Tuttle-Singer's book 'Fairy Lights in God's Backyard: A Jerusalem Love Story'. The author describes a morning when her son's shuttle driver and melava—a secular activist and a haredi woman—set aside their political differences to help her child during a meltdown, reflecting on community and resilience in Jerusalem.

This is an excerpt from Sarah Tuttle-Singer's book 'Fairy Lights in God's Backyard: A Jerusalem Love Story', published by KDP. The author recounts a morning when her son, who attends a special needs preschool, has a meltdown in the shuttle. The driver, a secular activist, and the melava, a haredi right-wing woman, set aside their political differences to help calm the child—one handing him a book, the other playing The Beatles. The author reflects on the power of shared purpose and community, noting that 'home is something you build with people far more than with stone.' She mentions a bloodstain from a neighbor still visible at her old house, but concludes with hope: 'I know I'm going to be okay. Not because everything has been repaired. But because people keep showing up.' The piece is a personal essay, not a news report.