by Sara N. S. Meirowitz

Secular Religious Novels

The gaze of outsiders upon modern observant Jewish life

No Comments

Romantic upheaval and family drama attain richer focus when seen through the eyes of newfound religious piety. Gone to the Dogs by Mary Guterson (St. Martin’s Press, $13.99) and You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr (Ecco/HarperCollins, $25.99) depict heroines struggling to make sense of their love and family lives, while newly observant relatives look on.

Winter 2009-2010

Joy Ladin’s transgender journey. How 3 sisters grapple with breast cancer in their family. Breaking up over food. Why Judy Shotten brought sex therapy to Israel.

Beautiful Girl in the Snow

by Anna Schnur-Fishman

When Food and Love Collide

by Cynthia Graber

What Was a Nice Jewish Girl Like Me Doing in a Man’s Body?

by Joy Ladin

Summer 2019

Jewish women and addiction. 1960s & 70s feminism roars back, trendy again. Transforming Jewish life in small-town Maine. Choosing to be Jewish–thus feeling perpetually “the stranger.” Food writing by women that changes the entire culture. She redefines the meaning of Jewish art.

Spring 2019

“Unfaithful,” the theme of 3 prize-winning short stories • Israel’s little-known School for Peace and the woman who created it • The new questions those male policy-makers didn’t know to ask

Winter 2018-9

Money and meaning, from teaching Hebrew school to funding abortion. Three miscarriages and a crisis of faith. Candidates who didn’t win. When your family breaks up with you (or vice versa).

Fall 2018

Latinx, Jewish, running for office • Alleged victims of a pediatrician find each other • Is motherhood new again? • A second chance at an old relationship • How to care for children without parents •

Secular Religious Novels

The gaze of outsiders upon modern observant Jewish life

Continue reading this article…