Books
Sally's life takes a shocking turn when, after 14 years of marriage and two children, she discovers her husband is gay. Resolute to keep her family together, Sally chooses to approach this heartbreaking situation with love instead of resentment. She and her former husband create a new kind of family: a mother and father who raise their kids together from separate households. As she struggles to relaunch a career and learns to live as a single woman, Sally emerges empowered and happy as she rediscovers parts of herself that she had left behind.
"Bonus Round" is a story of hope and the limitless potential of the human spirit. It is a must-read for anyone who has ever faced a challenge or setback, and for those who are looking to reinvent themselves and create a life that is truly worth living.
"It really would be nice, dear, if you would join us for the High Holy Days," Sally's mother-in-law coaxed.
Sally's stomach clenched. A lapsed Catholic from the Midwest, still adjusting to the culture clash of marrying into a Jewish family in Manhattan, Sally and her husband rarely spoke of religion except to discuss where to place the Christmas tree and the menorah.
Attend synagogue? She may as well have been asked to make gefilte fish. Little did Sally know her first time in a temple would be a rollercoaster ride of anxiety, hope and antipathy. It was to be a microcosm of her ten-year journey to becoming a Jew.
The New Jew is a story of an unexpected road to conversion, from Sally's first boisterous Seder dinner, through encounters with rabbis that left her feeling alienated, to the warmth of Jewish friends and family who drew her in.
It wasn’t until seven years into her marriage that Sally discovered the spirituality in Judaism and started her intriguing road to conversion. She studied under the tutelage of
a rabbi, learned Hebrew from a Holocaust survivor, and soon found herself part of the temple community. Woven into the story is Sally’s evolving relationship with Bernice, her Manhattanite Jewish mother-in-law, whose unexpected death offers a particular poignancy to her story.
