
WELCOME!
Robert is the author of Strikeout at Hell Gate, a novel about baseball set in racially torn New York in 1990. An L.A. Press Club Award-winning journalist, he has written for Thrive Global, the Huffington Post, the L.A. Times, the L.A. Weekly and the Jewish Journal, among other publications. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of Management.
In March 1997, Robert had a psychotic break that landed him in the USC psychiatric ward. He had a relapse in January 1999 in which he was hospitalized at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Thankfully, Robert has tamed his illness over the past two decades. He has benefited from therapy, medication, writing, exercise, and listening to Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.
In the years since subduing his illness, Robert has written roughly 300 newspaper articles on subjects ranging from sports to politics, arts to mental health policy. More than anything, he has dedicated his writing career to reducing stigma directed against those suffering from mental illness.
In addition to his articles, Robert has given numerous speeches over the years, including at schizophrenia conferences at Patton State Hospital and Loma Linda University Medical School, two institutions in Southern California. He was the keynote speaker at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital's Inaugural Worldwide Suicide Prevention Day Conference, as well as at an annual gala for Thresholds, a mental-health support organization in Chicago.
He has also spoken about mental health and writing at prisons, boys & girls clubs, libraries and schools in the Southland.
Robert lives in Southern California with Carol, his wife, and a menagerie of cuties.

NEW! ROBERT'S SUBSTACK:

"No Kings" in the City of Angels
We can achieve the impossible when we hear our song

Violence Is Not and Never Has Been an Option
We can learn more from our failures than from anything else

In Praise of David Duchovny
Asking the actor-author for forgiveness on the eve of 9/11

Parks and the Arts Can Transform Us
Stepping into nature helps to boost our spirits and elevate our world

Jesus Embraces Everyone at the Hollywood Bowl
The super power of love is in all of us

We Need Music and Love
A commentary on Trump, Shylock and D.E.I.

Zohran Mamdani Wins Our Hearts
Elevating language can help us stay optimistic in spite of Trump

Hope Is the Answer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Conference
We all need humility when we speak of suicidal ideation

Driving Across the Country with Dylan and Sinatra
We need leadership from Washington and music in our souls

Standing up to Bullies
Apologizing to Johnny,
my childhood neighbor

Rosie O'Donnell and "South Park" Have the Fighting Spirit
Reporting on my recent honeymoon in Ireland

A Dream of Peace on a Midsummer Night
Celebrating my nuptials to Carol

No Kings, No Tyrants
No more "obliterating" our language
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK:

The Voice of Light and Truth
A tribute to Professor George Fayen

The Gospel of Charlotte Bruney
Praising my math teacher from 9th grade

The Quiet Man
Honoring Bob Jaffee, my dad, on the eve of his second Yahrzeit.

Shalom, Salaam and Respect
The sacred kinship of the letters of the alphabet can lead us to peace
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