Today, author Odek Kassirer is guesting. He’s talking about his latest release, The Book of Oded, Chapter 2, an LGBTQ+ memoir. Be sure to read my review.
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Why did I need to share my story? Well, when I first started writing this story, I didn’t actually feel a need to share it. I was working as an animator in a big Hollywood studio, and I felt like something was missing. After a few weekly meetings with a life coach, who was also my friend, I realized that what was missing from my life was ‘creativity’. Being creative. I was working 12-hour days with a 2-hour commute each day, so when I’d get home, I was already too tired to do anything. My coach suggested writing. I had written a little when I was younger but nothing serious, and so when I sat down to write, I still really didn’t know what to write about. I had a notebook and a pen, and I sat by my desk and stared at the blank page. A few moments passed, and suddenly, I picked up the pen and started writing. I wrote a one-sentence and stopped. I had no idea where that came from, but I knew EXACTLY what I was writing about. In the next few months, as I was writing the story, I was sure I was writing it for myself and myself only. I didn’t even share it with my husband of, then, 20 years.
Cut to about 4 years later. At the request of my acting teacher, I brought my unfinished story to class, and I was ready to read about 5 minutes of it and discuss the topic of one-actor-shows.
I was convinced that what I wrote wouldn’t resonate with anyone in class. Not just because there were very few openly gay students there, but also because, as my thoughts were telling me: “Who’s gonna want to hear about your troubles and issues? They probably have some of their own…” But I did it anyway. I stepped up to the stage, sat down, and started reading. I read and read until I finished all that I had written so far. I looked up. The class was still, and someone shouted: “And then? What happened next?” Apparently, I was reading for about 20 mins, and I had everyone closely following me, and they, obviously, were finding my writing interesting.
This was my first discovery that what I wrote, as a personal and unique story, was indeed touching and resonating with others.
Cut again to about 2 years later. My husband and I produced my one-man-show with the story that, by then, was finished and polished into performable material. The show ran in a small theater in Hollywood for 9 weeks, had great reviews, and above all, showed me, again and again, how universal and relatable it was even with a diverse and eclectic audience.
I understood that my story, more than changing me, has the power to help and improve the lives of others. I also realized that I cannot keep performing it because emotionally it was too hard. Time passed, and about 10 years after the show was over, the idea of making a book out of it came up. Somewhat ironic, since the name of the show is “The BOOK of Oded”…
So why did I need to share my story? Because I know that learning about what others have been through, what they were thinking, and how they got over the challenges in their lives, helps them with their own difficult life situations. As the viewers or readers resonate with the story, bridges and connections are being created, communities become more powerful, and the feeling that we are all closer, more than we think, becomes stronger.
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Title: The Book of Oded, Chapter 2
Author and Publisher: Oded Kassirer
Genres: Gay Non-Fiction Memoir
Tropes: A kind of forbidden love
Themes: Coming out, HIV/AIDS
Heat Rating: No sexual content
Length: 25,000 words/ 94 pages
Release Date: October 8, 2025
A Story of Love in 17 parts. A poetic and deeply personal exploration of love, identity, and spiritual truth through a queer lens — part reflection, part quiet confession. This book speaks to anyone who’s searched for belonging or inner peace.
Blurb: The Book of Oded, Chapter 2: A Story of Love in 17 Parts is a true story told through seventeen short reflections, each introduced by a photograph.
This real-life memoir follows Oded Kassirer’s journey through love in its many forms—love that comforts, love that tests us, and love that stays even when people are gone. With honesty and openness, Oded shares moments from his own life, weaving together memory, relationships, and the everyday search for meaning.
Each part begins with an image, creating a rhythm of words and photos that invite the reader to pause, reflect, and connect. The book moves gently between joy and loss, humor and sorrow, offering a window into how love shapes us over time.
The Book of Oded, Chapter 2 is both deeply personal and universal—a reminder that behind every story of one life, there is also the story of love itself.
Note: It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Paperback and Kindle Unlimited
Paperback also available from IngramSpark
Looks like I don’t have to do that anymore, since Gil and I are dating now. Well… Gil being a lieutenant in the Israeli army, we only see each other once every two or three weeks, for maybe a day and a half. So we’re dating-lite.
But there’s more. You see, I’m out, and Gil is… well, I’m in a bigger closet than Gil.. OK, let me explain something about coming out and closets: you don’t just come out once and you’re done. No. You come out of the closet you’re in, into a slightly bigger closet. First, friends know. Then some family. Then all family, maybe a few coworkers. And so on, into bigger and bigger closets, until one day you think you’re totally out. But when you hesitate to put a photo of you and your boyfriend on your work desk, you realize: you’re still in a closet. A really big one, but still a closet.
So in my case, my friends know, and some of my family knows too. But as I start dating Gil, I find myself stepping backwards into a smaller closet. Back to lying to my family and friends. They ask: “So how do you know this guy Gil? He’s four, five years younger than you.”
“Oh, he’s my friend.”
“But we are your friends…”
And with Gil’s family it’s worse. We have to invent a background story, making sure our lies match. It’s back to lying and living a double life — something I’ve always hated.
Maybe because we don’t actually live together, and only see each other once in a while, I agree to it. Maybe I don’t value enough the freedom of being out. Or maybe I need to go through this to finally understand it.
And so Gil and I continue to keep our relationship very low profile. We have to be creative to communicate. Gil is stationed at a small base in the Golan Heights, just a few hours north of Tel Aviv, right on the border with Syria. When I call him, I can’t say what I really want to say. All the lines are tapped—not to catch gay soldiers, but to make sure nobody leaks classified information. Gil, being an intelligence lieutenant, is very aware of this. So even saying “I miss you” is, for him, like shouting into the phone: “GAY! GAY! GAY!”
So we come up with a code. We both love listening to Sarah Vaughan, the jazz singer. “Sarah” becomes our password. Our way of saying what we can’t.
“Hey Gil, how are you? Oh, by the way, Sarah really misses you.”
“Tell her I miss her too.”
“And she wants you to know that she loves you.”
“Tell her I love her too.”
It works—until one day, Gil can’t come to the phone and I leave a message with someone else: “Could you please tell Gil that… Sarah misses him?” When Gil finds out, all hell breaks loose.
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I enjoy reading memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies, so when this book came up to read and review, I was in. However, it is only the second chapter of the memoir, so I will do my best to leave a review of what I read.
Oded is from Israel and is currently living in the USA. The chapter starts with the author about to make a phone call, a very important one from Israel to the USA.
I must say I found this chapter intriguing, and I wanted to know more about Oded. It’s a sad part of his life that he shares, but also one of hope and happiness. We all have ups and downs in life, and Oded shares about a relationship with another man that didn’t end the way he wished.
He is a sympathetic character who isn’t afraid to seek his desires in life. But he is also empathic enough to do his best to try and be there for others. It’s a very short read, only one chapter. I enjoyed what I read, and if I were asked to read more, I would.
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Oded Kassirer was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, and moved to Los Angeles in 1988. His creative journey began in film and animation, where he worked on major studio projects before turning toward acting, writing, and personal storytelling.
Alongside his career in the arts, Oded has explored photography and visual expression, blending images and words to reflect the intimate moments of everyday life. The Book of Oded: A Story of Love in 17 Parts is his first book – a true story that combines memoir and photographs in a deeply personal exploration of love, memory, and connection.
He lives in Los Angeles, with his husband, Oscar.
Follow Oded: Blog/Website | Instagram
Maggie Blackbird 