Marquez Knolls Author Pens Eighth Novel

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Marquez Knolls resident Edward Dreyfus has released his eighth book—and this time, he tells the story through a friend group that is bonded by poker.

“I have several friends who are longtime poker players,” Dreyfus explained to the Palisadian-Post. Some of these friends have played in weekly games for decades.

One of his friends told Dreyfus a story about a player in his game.

“Something happened in his life months and months before that no one knew about,” Dreyfus said. “How can they be playing poker every week for 40 years and not know each other?”

Dreyfus’ book, “The Poker Players,” is inspired by the idea that when men get together, they often talk about what could be considered trivial things—not bringing up the bigger issues in their lives.

“You talk about stuff about your life like, ‘Hey, I got a new five iron or new set of tires,’” Dreyfus said.

Dreyfus explained that, for the most part, men and women differ in this capacity, that if women got together each week to play bridge or mahjong, that they would know most everything going on in each other’s lives.

“The Poker Players” follows the story of five guys in their 70s, which Dreyfus said will be relatable for the senior population in the Palisades. The men, inspired by not knowing that their friend has gotten a divorce, decide to go away together for a weekend in the mountains.

During the course of the trip, they discover that each player has at least one profound secret.

“When they start sharing, it changes their lives,” Dreyfus added.

Dreyfus shared that luckily he and his friends, who are all psychologists, are all over-sharers, so they differ from the subjects in his book. In fact, since the last time the Post spoke with Dreyfus in February 2018, he has completely retired.

“I put my license on inactive status,” Dreyfus explained. “That was a big deal.”

He said that he is enjoying complete retirement, which gives him more time to cook, exercise and work on his second career: writing. The book he is currently working on is a sequel to “The Midnight Shrink.”

“I want to encourage people who are older, seniors, that life is not over when you retire,” Dreyfus told the Post in 2018. “You retire to a new life—whatever it is that you put on the back burner, you can accomplish now. You may not be able to do it the same way you did when you were young, but you can still do it, you just do it differently.”

The stories that Dreyfus writes are partially autobiographical because they come from interactions he had with and observed through his patients, primarily in sexual dysfunction, relationship counseling and addictions.

When he’s not writing, Dreyfus stays active in the community, volunteering with local nonprofits.

“Life is all about that,” Dreyfus shared, “living fully and making a difference. Making a difference is big in our lives.”

“The Poker Players” is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon. All proceeds from purchases are donated to charity.