The Common Fire is a book of family stories from matriarchs to daughters, about the struggles we encounter in daily life; it is a journey wherein fire keeps igniting, beginning with the burning of flesh in a concentration camp and ending with enlightenment. The book is divided into four sections: Mama's Kitchen introduces the reader to family elders; Leaving This World reconciles death of children, animals, even art; Just a Child glimpses at childhood and motherhood; and Searching for that Light is the quest for illumination, love and ultimately inner peace. The poems are largely domestic, and the author s Jewish background adds a strong flavor to the theme: Within the common experience, there is struggle and there is light.