Then Comes Marriage: United States V. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA

Software prodigy Josie Ashkenazi has invented an application that records everything its users do. When an Egyptian library invites her to visit as a consultant, her jealous sister Judith persuades her to go. But in Egypts postrevolutionary chaos, Josie is abducted―leaving Judith free to take over Josies life at home, including her husband and daughter, while Josies talent for preserving memories becomes a surprising test of her empathy and her only means of escape.

A century earlier, another traveler arrives in Egypt: Solomon Schechter, a Cambridge professor hunting for a medieval archive hidden in a Cairo synagogue. Both he and Josie are haunted by the work of the medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides, a doctor and rationalist who sought to reconcile faith and science, destiny and free will. But what Schechter finds, as he tracks down the remnants of a thousand-year-old communitys once-vibrant life, will reveal the power and perils of what Josies ingenious work brings into being: a world where nothing is ever forgotten.

Paperback, 368 pages.
A Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2015


Roberta Kaplan with Lisa Dickey


Hardcover, 336 pages


Roberta Kaplans gripping story of her defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) before the Supreme Court.



Renowned litigator Roberta Kaplan knew from the beginning that it was the perfect case to bring down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer had been together as a couple, in sickness and in health, for more than forty years―enduring societys homophobia as well as Spyers near total paralysis from multiple sclerosis. Although the couple was finally able to marry, when Spyer died the federal government refused to recognize their marriage, forcing Windsor to pay a huge estate tax bill.



In this gripping, definitive account of one of our nations most significant civil rights victories―named a Ms. Magazine Top 10 Feminist Book of 2015 and a National Law Journal Top 10 Supreme Court Aficionado Book of 2015―Kaplan describes meeting Windsor and their journey together to defeat DOMA. She shares the behind-the-scenes highs and lows, the excitement and the worries, and provides intriguing insights into her historic argument before the Supreme Court. A critical and previously untold part of the narrative is Kaplans own personal story, including her struggle for self-acceptance in order to create a loving family of her own.



Then Comes Marriage tells this quintessentially American story with honesty, humor, and heart. It is the momentous yet intimate account of a thrilling victory for equality under the law for all Americans, gay or straight.
8 pages of illustrations