The Rye Bread Marriage – a book about an enduring bond thanks to rye bread

Weissman married Melngailis in 1982, a time when the expectation was still that Latvians in the United States would marry other Latvians, so the marriage of Melgailis to Weissman (who is Jewish) was not looked upon favorably by some in the community. The book, in its brief 266 pages, is many things – a memoir, a biography of Melngailis, a history of rye bread, as well as an analysis of the trauma many Latvian refugees experienced after the war, where rye bread was a potent reminder of home, a home that many were convinced they would never see again.