News & Events
My first online writing class now open for registration
I’m excited to offer a 4-part writing class, “The Art of Persuasive Writing,” April 20 – May 18, through Story Circle Network. I’ll be teaching the ingredients of compelling opinion essays (op-eds, in newspaper parlance) as the basis for students crafting their own opinion essays polished enough to submit to targeted media outlets. Registration is limited, and this class is open to women only. Click here to register.
Audiobook Now Available!
I’m grateful to Cedar House Audio, producer Lyssa Brown and narrator Susanna Burney for the outstanding audiobook version of The Skeptic and the Rabbi they produced. Their attention to detail, especially in a book with so many Hebrew words and phrases, was of the highest caliber. I couldn’t be happier with it! It’s available through Audible, Libro.FM, Google Play, Kobo, HooplaDigital, Audiobooks.com, and many other platforms. If you get your audiobooks from your local library, please request it. Listen to a clip here:
Judy Offers Up Tips & Insights
at Jerusalem Women’s
Writers Seminar
This past May, Judy headlined several workshops at the annual Jerusalem Women’s Writers Seminar, presenting her “FUNdamentals of Humor Writing” to a group of over 250 women from across the globe. Judy’s insights and pointers garnered many laughs, with participants scribbling down the many practical tips Judy offered up. Later on that day, Judy led a workshop on “The Art of Persuasive Writing,” a tutorial that analyzed the various elements of a successful opinion essay typically published by today’s high profile media outlets. The workshop’s goal was to help female writers break into this generally male-dominated niche.
Praise for The Skeptic and the Rabbi
“Honesty shines throughout the book, as Gruen refuses to sugarcoat her narrative. She frankly discusses the many real challenges she encountered in her decision to take upon various mitzvot. The memoir is a terrific read for anyone curious about the Torah lifestyle.” – Leah Aharoni, Jewish Action Magazine
“Laugh out loud funny, narrated by a character you quickly come to love. I always wondered if well-written ba’al teshuva memoir could be done. Judy Gruen has shown me how.” – Allison Josephs, founder and director of Jew in the City
“Gruen’s ebullient positivity is a counterweight to religion-as-abuse memoirs… an uplifting spin on an often-misunderstood life choice.” – Library Journal
“For the Jewish reader looking to expand his or her understanding of Torah and Judaism, this book will resonate deeply. This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time. It is food for the soul.” – Amazon reader review
“[A] charming and well-written book that explains a difficult subject with elegance and restraint of style that is admirable. . . This is the kind of thing I would have liked to have passed to relatives and friends who wondered what strange lifestyle I was getting myself into many years ago.” – Amazon reader review
Books
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News & Notes from Judy
Family Matters
by
Our son Ben and his wife Rivka welcomed a new son into the family at the end of November. It is the custom of Ashkenazi Jews to name children after family members who have passed away. Our family’s only redhead so far, Herschel Yaakov, now 3, was named after both his great-grandfathers. Our newest grandson, whom we call Dovy, was named for my maternal grandfather, born Dov Ber Konopiaty in Sokoly, Poland in 1900. That’s the name he arrived with at Ellis Island, but when he went out the doors on the other side he had been unceremoniously renamed Bernard Cohen.
As you can see, Dovy is learning the hard way what life is going to be like with an older brother getting in his face, even with the best of intentions.
Publications
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