Fine, I'm a Terrible Person: A Novel

Family baggage. Bad decisions. One unforgettable weekend.

At seventy-three, Aurora is eccentric, perpetually broke, and convinced life still owes her something. A former beauty living among Marin County's wealthy elite, she has little money, plenty of opinions, and no intention of growing old gracefully. When she learns that her late father's widow has died, Aurora heads to Los Angeles, hoping an inheritance might finally turn her luck around.

Her estranged daughter, Leyla, has problems of her own. At forty-three, she's a tightly wound, sleep-deprived perfectionist struggling to keep up with Marin's picture-perfect mothers. When she suspects her husband is having an affair, she impulsively follows him to a cannabis industry conference in Los Angeles, determined to catch him in the act.

Over one wildly unpredictable weekend, Aurora's hunt for money and Leyla's search for answers collide, unleashing outrageous mishaps, long-buried resentments, and uncomfortable truths. But beneath the comedy lies a more complicated family history, one shaped by Sephardic Jewish heritage, cultural identity, and the emotional wounds passed from one generation to the next. As their misadventures take them through Los Angeles and its Ladino-speaking Jewish community, mother and daughter must confront not only their fractured relationship but also the past that helped shape it.

Sharp, irreverent, and unexpectedly tender, Fine, I'm a Terrible Person is a wickedly funny novel about dysfunctional families, inherited trauma, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. Because sometimes the people who drive us the craziest are the ones we most need to understand.

About the Author

Lisa F. Rosenberg holds degrees from U.C. Berkeley and Dominican University of California, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. She has worked as a gallerist for prominent San Francisco art dealers, including Crown Point Press and John Berggruen Gallery, and later as a museum guide and educator at SFMOMA and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in exhibition catalogs and arts publications, and her short fiction has been featured in Amaranth. Fine, I’m a Terrible Person is her debut novel, inspired in part by her Rhodeslis Sephardic heritage.

Editorial Reviews

“Rosenberg’s novel has an effortless, dry sense of humor and quippy tone…a breezy, funny, and propulsive read. Our Verdict: Get it.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“What unfolds is a biting, laugh-out-loud examination of generational dysfunction, shifting cultural identities, and the absurdities of modern survival. The writing crackles with dark humor and honesty…”

— Lee Kravetz, award-winning author of The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.

“Lisa Rosenberg has written a novel that invites a full range of emotions as you journey from neurotically wealthy Marin County to a legal cannabis conference in Los Angeles … It’s a fast-paced ride…”

— Marianne Rogoff, PhD, author of Love is Blind in One Eye

“I highly recommend “Fine, I’m a Terrible Person” for its nuanced exploration of self-discovery, mental health, and personal growth.”

— Jewish Book World

“What do you do with the toxic people in your life? Especially if the most toxic person is your mother? In her funny and heartbreaking novel, Fine, I’m a Terrible Person, Lisa Rosenberg pushes these questions to their boundaries.”

— Susan Breen, award-winning author of The Fiction Class and the Maggie Dove mystery series