A NOVEL BY RACHEL OLD · 2016
"Derived by legend, mirroring historical events, JANDALS may indeed re-shape our vision of the future. To the heart of the conscious, this story will reveal personal barriers, create a revolution to compassion and strip back the essence of peace to a simple truth."— RACHEL OLD
AS DEFINED IN THE PITCH DECK
JAN-DALS; /ˈjand(ə)l/ — noun. 1. Japanese kind of slipper 2. comfort shoe 3. fastened to foot by straps 4. open toe, no heel 5. kiwi thong 6. peaceful flip-flop.
First published on February 12, 2016, Jandals is a 162-page coming-of-age novel told through the eyes of youth. In Amsterdam, a group of teenagers' casual encounter comes to a screeching halt inside the Anne Frank museum — and continues through the dark canal streets toward a faithful night where peace prevails.
Funny, fast, timely and realistic, it's a story of engaged, deeply rooted young people proving that peace can be achieved through acts of kindness and love, not fear or force.
The story ties five dynamic, culturally diverse college kids who shift focus on one fateful evening in Amsterdam — circumstances inflame a special connection after a shared eye-popping experience, instigating the exciting ending that forms a revolution for peace.
"These engaged, funny and deeply rooted co-edsprove that peace can indeed be achieved throughacts of kindness and love, not fear or force."
RACHEL OLD
Rachel Old is the pen name of author Irene Gottlieb.
Irene Gottlieb was born and raised in New York and spent most of her life in Colorado — a former banking executive who stepped off the corporate ladder to write as Rachel Old. Stories, treatments and screenplays followed, including work on the documentaries Bullfighter on the Green and Bell Rung.
Jandals — written over one Florida summer in 2015 — is her first novel and the first in a trilogy. She lives in Kerikeri, in New Zealand's Northland, and is a mother, a wife, and an award-winning photographer.
— NEW YORK → COLORADO → NEW ZEALAND
FINALIST — AUTHOR OF THE YEAR · IIBA 2026 · HOLLYWOOD
"Good old-fashioned story telling."
"On the surface of it, an endearing yet dramatic story of young people connecting. Beneath, however, is a thought-provoking commentary on what we face, and the decisions we must make, in dealing with the unexpected in modern life. Tolerance, understanding and compassion, regardless of the origins of others, seems to be a common theme. Set in Amsterdam, but with supporting flashbacks in many other parts of the world, the story leads us like an experienced tour-guide toward the exciting finale."
VERIFIED PURCHASE — AMAZON READER REVIEW · MAY 27, 2016
"Beautifully written, rich in culture, emotion, and history on a grand scale. As Mark Twain, the great articulator had said 'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts' — Jandals is a balm for the societal ills Twain has described."
SOLO — VERIFIED PURCHASE · AMAZON · PAPERBACK · JULY 15, 2026
"Beautifully written."
KOKO — VERIFIED PURCHASE · AMAZON · HARDCOVER · JUNE 3, 2017
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