Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Choosing the Chosen

Between Gods by Alison Pick
Published
: October 20, 2015 by Harper Perennial
I've read a lot of memoirs on all type of subjects, except none of them have moved me as much as this day. I couldn't seem to put it down, which in some ways makes me a little sad, because I wish I was still reading it.

Alison Pick, the author, is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Except when her grandparents escaped to Canada, they lived as Christians in an attempt to fit in and forget about what they lost. Both Alison, and her father, were raised as Christian, except as Alison is researching her newest book she starts to explore her family's past. She's on the eve of getting married and becoming a mother, which I think is part of the reason why figuring our her own faith is so important to her.

Being raised Jewish I know all the holidays and customs. I can sing the prayers and retell the stories. Except most of the Jewish education happened as a child, which is quite a bit different than learning it as an adult. In some ways I'm a bit jealous of Alison. As she talked about the books she read and the classes she took, it makes me want to explore my own faith in a similar way. And while I'm so happy I was raised Jewish, there is something to be said of making that decision yourself and wanting to convert.

Going into this I knew I would like it, but I didn't expect to love it. It's actually inspired me to read some of the fictional books she's written as well as the non-fiction ones mentioned (written by Anita Diamat who I actually have read before). But more than that it also made me think, and be a little more introspective.

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

5 comments:

  1. I read this one too! I'll be posting about it tomorrow. Preview - I don't usually like memoirs, but this one was good!

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  2. I found it unexpectedly moving too: she writes very well and invites us into the core of her experiences. Glad to hear you enjoyed it as well.

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  3. I too sometimes envy those who come to my faith as adults rather than being raised in it. It is a different experience to be sure.

    Thanks for being a part of the tour!

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  4. My post on this one goes up tomorrow. I found her faith journey a fascinating one for sure.

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  5. I really didn't like this book. For some reason it really bugged me and I'm not even sure I can articulate why...

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