We Californians are very spoiled, surrounded as we are by so much natural beauty. It helps to make up for the much less appealing aspects of life in the Golden State: high taxes, high citizens (check out our medical marijuana centers now as ubiquitous as Starbucks cafes!), stratospherically high real estate prices, and earthquakes.

So, Jeff and I were thrilled to return to our favorite vacation spot, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, a sparking jewel of California’s central coast. Fires in recent years made access to Highway 1 impossible for long stretches, but now that iconic twisty road that hugs the gorgeous coastline is open for business. We stayed at the Pfeiffer Big Sur Lodge, which we love, and where Steller’s jays will gladly join you on your cottage porch for breakfast or lunch, just waiting for you to drop — or toss — some crumbs their way. I can’t stop gazing at these birds; the blue of their feathers is rich enough for ink.

This was our third foray up to Big Sur (a 6-7 hour drive from our home in Los Angeles), and we discovered some new, fantastic spots, particularly the stunningly beautiful Limekiln State Park, which has lovely waterfalls, campgrounds, trails and massive sycamores and redwoods. One thing Jeff and I both love about these trips is that most people you meet on a trail, a bridge, or the beach, are decidedly not on their smartphones. Instead, people are looking straight ahead, smiling and greeting other people, offering to snap photos of passersby, and just being relaxed. This is us on one of the bridges at Limekiln Park, but it hardly does justice to the place. You’ll just have to check it out for yourselves! And I hope that you do

I tried to think about future writing projects while we were away, but that was a total bust. Frankly, I was too busy unwinding, staring in awe at the majestic redwoods by day and the starry skies at night, and taking the long walks that seem so much less appealing in the city. I think I made the right choice!

I am enjoying working with some new clients right now, including a very talented writer whose memoir manuscript I am editing, and a healthcare executive who is starting her first blog. As usual, I’m reading way too many books at a time. One book I’m enjoying, and finding quite poignant, is “Tevye the Dairyman,” translated from the Yiddish, for an online class I am going to take by Harvard Yiddish Professor Ruth Wisse, about these fabled stories by Shalom Aleichem.

And now, Here are the most recent things I’ve published:

Blinded by the Light: What Bruce Springsteen’s Music Meant to Me

When I was single, I once accepted a date with a man I knew I wasn’t really interested in. This was clearly not my finest moment, but many readers may offer absolution when I explain that he had tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert. He was a music producer and in possession of very expensive, enviable seats, the likes of which I would never sit in again. I wrestled my conscience to the ground in about two seconds. No way would I miss this opportunity to see “the Boss” in concert for the first time.

Springsteen and his incomparable E Street Band played with electrifying abandon. Thousands of us danced and sang along with Bruce during “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” “The River” and other hits. I’ll never forget the thrill of that evening, and the high that lingered through the following days. . .Read More

The Day I Got Scammed

A few weeks ago, I was the victim of one the most common scams going around these days: a fraudulent tech support call to help me with a problem I had reported to Hewlett-Packard about my printer. Thanks to the quick action of an employee from Western Union, the conman couldn’t put through his more than $2,000 charge on my credit card. . .Read More

Missing the Patriotic Spirit on the Fourth of July

From earlier this summer, here’s an essay about a 4th of July concert where the patriotic spirit seemed in short supply. . . perhaps telling of the rancorous political times we live in.
Read the story here.

The Cake Topper

Here’s a surprise: my first published short poem, inspired by a tiny keepsake that is very dear to me.
Read More

Making it Real this Rosh Hashana

I am sending out this newsletter less than two weeks from the Jewish High Holidays. Rosh HaShana, the “head” of the Jewish new year, is a momentous day. We stand both in judgement before God, as well as in dedication to continuing to connect with Him as both Father and King. It can be overwhelming and emotional. If you feel put off by the holiday, here is an essay I wrote last year about Rosh Hashana last year, Making It Real on Rosh HaShana, that I hope will have some nice “takeaway” for almost every reader.

For my non-Jewish readers, I also want to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a healthy and blessed New Year. Rosh Hashana is considered not just “our” new year, but the New Year for the entire world!

Now, please don’t skip my last section, because I have a special offer for you!

Special Offer! Free downloads of “The Skeptic and the Rabbi” — while supplies last!

Audiobook fans, this is your moment! For a limited time I am offering links to free downloads of the fantastic audiobook produced by Cedar House Audio of my memoir. In return for the download, I ask for an honest review posted on at least one audiobook review site, as well as on Amazon or Goodreads. To request, email me at judyrgruen@gmail.com and let me know where you plan to post the review. And please do send me a link to it when it’s up.

Click here to listen to the first few minutes of the audiobook. The ebook and softcover book make great gifts also!

I’ll be the guest author next week at a local synagogue book club that has been reading The Skeptic and the Rabbi. Are you in a reading group that enjoys non-fiction? Why not recommend my memoir? I’m happy to set up Zoom meetings if your group is not local.

READER REVIEWS FROM AMAZON:
“She writes with honesty, joy and wit about her spiritual journey and I enjoyed and benefited from every page. The memoir begins with her wedding day and ends with the wedding of their oldest son . . . I recommend this book for anyone who wants to know what a Torah-observant life looks like; anyone who has ever struggled with issues of faith; anyone who is on any kind of spiritual quest.”

“I found the book very insightful and could not put it down. Read it in 6 hours.”

“This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time. It is food for the soul.”

Click here to purchase your copy of The Skeptic and The Rabbi: Falling in Love With Faith

Thanks to my daughter, Yael, I am taking time this summer to finally tackle a project I have been putting off for years: getting my older writing clips sorted, organized, inventoried and digitized. In the old days, I carefully kept all my clips in binders. Well, those binders have been moldering for decades, and while I knew I didn’t want all that paper, I still wanted a record of what I had done.

Like any good organizer, Yael forced me to make decisions about what to keep and what to toss. Using a Google scanner app, she took excellent snaps of most of my old work, and it felt great to throw out one of my fat binders on the road to a digitized record of the early years in my career. It’s also fun to spend time together this way, before she returns to her teaching job in the fall. Yes, that’s my beautiful daughter in this photo, with her husband, Yonah, otherwise known in our house as “my favorite son-in-law.” (I also have three favorite daughters-in-law, fortunately for my three sons!)

Links to my latest columns

Moe Berg, the Spy Behind Home Plate

The “Billy Graham Rule” and the Mississippi Governor’s Race

Last week the Mississippi gubernatorial primary race catapulted to national attention when Republican candidate Robert Foster denied the request of reporter Larrison Campbell to ride along with him in his truck for a long day of campaigning – unless she brought a male colleague along.

Read More

Laughter is Serious Business

As a kid, I wanted to be Erma Bombeck when I grew up. With book titles such as “If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?” and “A Marriage Made in Heaven … or Too Tired for an Affair,” Bombeck poked fun at herself and at life’s foibles and frustrations with comic genius. When I sold my first humor column to a major newspaper, I was so excited my hands shook.

Read More

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On My Bookshelf

I decided it was time to reread one of my favorite novels, Herman Wouk’s Inside, Outside, which I loved when it was first published more than 30 years ago, when I was in graduate school. I wrote Mr. Wouk a fan letter, and he delighted me by writing back a gracious typed note on a folded notecard. I am hoping that as Yael and I continue to go through my old work and memorabilia, I will find this note again. Wouk recently passed away just 10 days shy of what would have been his 104th birthday. His age was as almost as remarkable as his enormous talent, and many of his books are classics: The Caine Mutiny, Marjorie Morningstar, The Winds of War, and This Is My God, his non-fiction book on his Jewish faith.

I’m also reading — for the first time — some of the most famous Israeli novelists (in translation). I’m starting with S. Y. Agnon, who I believe is the only Israeli writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature. And I’m also enjoying No Joke, by Professor Ruth Wisse, which is a primer on Jewish humor and its origins. It may sound academic, and it has elements of that, but it also has good jokes, like this one:

Four Europeans go hiking in the woods and get lost. They run out of food, and eventually, also water. The German says, “I’m so thirsty, I must have beer!” The Frenchman says, “I’m so thirsty, I must have wine!” The Englishman says, “I’m so thirsty, I must have tea!” The Jew says, “I’m so thirsty, I must have diabetes!”

If you’re laughing uproariously, you’re probably Jewish, or know a lot of Jews!

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far, and welcome hearing from you. Write to me at jg@judygruen.com.

My memoir will be on the reading list for some upcoming college courses related to Jewish culture and religion, and I’m really thrilled about that! Here are some of the latest reviews from Amazon readers — if you have also enjoyed the book, please add your own review on Amazon. It is really quite helpful with those all-important, mysterious algorithms.

New reader raves for The Skeptic and the Rabbi

“She writes with honesty, joy and wit about her spiritual journey and I enjoyed and benefited from every page. The memoir begins with her wedding day and ends with the wedding of their oldest son . . . I recommend this book for anyone who wants to know what a Torah-observant life looks like; anyone who has ever struggled with issues of faith; anyone who is on any kind of spiritual quest.“

“I found the book very insightful and could not put it down. Read it in 6 hours.”

“This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time. It is food for the soul.”

If you have read and enjoyed my book, please leave a review. It is very, very helpful. More book clubs are selecting The Skeptic and the Rabbi for their groups. Why not yours?

Click here to purchase your copy of The Skeptic and The Rabbi: Falling in Love With Faith

Have you ever done something that was both so spontaneous and also so “big” that you almost couldn’t believe you did it? Well, about six weeks ago I realized that the annual Jerusalem Women’s Writers Seminar was coming up fast. I had never been to it, and I wanted to go. Israel is close to my heart but not to my house. It’s 11,000 miles away and a 14-hour flight, if you go direct.

On My Bookshelf

Alert readers may recall that in the last newsletter, which admittedly was back in April, I raved about Kitchen Table Wisdom, but I was only halfway through with it. Now that I finished it, I can reaffirm that it deserved all the accolades it has received. It is filled with short, elegantly written stories from the author’s life, from her perspectives as a patient with a serious, life-threatening illness, a physician who became a counselor to cancer patients, a daughter and a friend.

I just bought the newly published Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, written by Benjamin Dryer, the executive managing editor and copy chief of Random House. I’ve only just started it, but it’s already a delight. Dryer teaches amusingly. Among his rules: “The passive voice is to be avoided,” and “Sentence fragments. They’re bad.” If you’re looking to tidy up your prose and refresh your knowledge of writing rules, this may be your go-to book.

Finally, I am on the edge of my seat as I close in on the ending of Perfect, a novel written by Rachel Joyce, the incredibly talented author of another of my favorite books, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. From the inside book jacket: “A spellbinding story of a young boy who is thrown, with far-reaching consequences, into the murky, difficult realities of the adult world.” I won’t say any more than this except to go and get this book!

New reader raves for The Skeptic and the Rabbi

From Amazon reader reviews:

” I found the book very insightful and could not put it down. Read it in 6 hours.”

“[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.”

“This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time. It is food for the soul.”

More book clubs are selecting The Skeptic and the Rabbi for their groups. Why not yours?

Click here to purchase your copy of The Skeptic and The Rabbi: Falling in Love With Faith

After so many years of drought, this past winter got us good and wet here in Southern California. We are delighted to see our local hills and mountains — dry and brown for years — now carpeted in glorious green. Flowers are blooming throughout the region so bountifully that the Wall Street Journal ran a recent story about visitors jamming the nearby regions where the famous California poppies are putting on quite the colorful extravaganza. Until I can get to the poppies myself, I can go outside and enjoy the vibrant white and purple of our walkway daisies. Last year we had a few anemic bunches surrounding by dry soil. Now they are spilling over onto the sidewalk!

The Shtisel Phenomenon

In my wildest imagination, I would never have guessed that a television series about an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family living in Jerusalem would become an overnight sensation. But when Netflix purchased the rights to broadcast the Israeli show Shtisel, that’s exactly what happened. As I wrote in my feature (linked below) on Aish.com, the show has captured the hearts and imaginations not only of Jews across the religious spectrum, but also of many non-Jews as well. As testimony to the show’s appeal, my story on Aish.com has so far garnered more than 3,400 social media shares — pretty incredible!

Here’s how I explained my Shtisel addiction at the beginning of the story:

“On a recent Shabbat afternoon, I was arranging chicken on a serving platter when I heard one of our lunch guests talking about the hit Israeli series,  Shtisel. I dropped my serving fork on the counter with a clang and hustled into the dining room.

‘No talking about  Shtisel  till I’m back at the table!’ I commanded, taken aback by my own vehemence. After all, our guest was not giving a D’var Torah; he was just talking about a television show about make-believe people. Yet, like thousands of other Shtisel  devotees, my husband and I were hooked on the show from the first episode. It was compulsively watchable, even gripping in its quiet way. Now, I couldn’t bear for even a “bissel” (little bit) of  Shtisel  talk to take place without me.”

Read the rest of the story here

Becoming a Grandmother Made Me Rethink My Priorities — in the new Nashim Magazine

A few new online magazines geared for religious Jewish women have sprouted over the last year or so, and I am really pleased to be a regular contributor to one of the best of them:  Nashim Magazine.

“Nashim” is Hebrew for “women,” and I salute the amazing editor Rochel Lazar for her professional work. In addition to putting together a smart and smartly designed magazine each month, she also homeschools her children and takes care of her infant. This is one dynamic woman who I’m sure barely sleeps! I wish her continued success with this worthy journalistic mission. I sure hope she can sneak in the occasional nap.

ast month  Nashim  ran my piece about  National Organizing Month. This month, they are running an essay about how becoming a grandmother (a few years back) helped me reassess my priorities. The essay originally appeared in the  Chicago Tribune.

Here’s how it starts:

“I am on a slow excursion around the block with my granddaughters, Leeba, 2, and Ahuva, 4. I also brought along my very elderly dog, who is 103 in human years. Just imagine how slow we are going with this crew.

Ahuva abruptly drops the handle of the red wagon she is pulling to scamper onto a short wall. Leeba ditches her plastic car, saying she is too tired to pedal. What was I thinking when I set off with two little kids, a dog, a wagon and a kiddie car? I am out of hands to deal with it all.”

Read the rest of the story here

“Politics Claims Another Friendship” in the Jewish Journal

Our political divide in this nation is very troubling, and many friendships and family relationships have soured as a result. This essay, in the March 29 issue of the Jewish Journal, describes how it has affected me personally:

“My friendship with ‘Caroline’ had been fading for years when, on a whim, I clicked on her Facebook page. When I landed there, I had a shock. She had replaced her previous personal photo — where she stands next to her husband, both of them smiling — with an illustration aiming daggers at political conservatives. It depicted a woman, seemingly Lady Justice, forcibly held down on a table. A man stands above her menacingly, his white hands projecting out of the sleeves of an expensive-looking suit. He gags the blindfolded woman with one hand as the other clamps down on her wrist, forcing her scales of justice to lay in disarray.

The pièce de résistance? The bold red-white-and-blue Republican elephant logos burnishing the man’s shirt cuffs.”

Read the rest of the story here

On My Bookshelf

I’ve just finished two very different novels, both based on real people. The title links will take you to my reviews on Goodreads, where, by the way, I have 170 book reviews, if you want to scroll through and look for books to enjoy — or in some cases, avoid! The Velveteen Daughter by Laurel Davis Huber, is a diligently researched and well written book about Pamela Bianco, an artistic child prodigy and daughter of Margery Williams Bianco, author of 24 children’s books, including the classic work, The Velveteen Rabbit. I also reviewed The Orchard, a novel by Israeli author Yochi Brandes and recently translated into English, about the life and times of Rabbi Akiva, one of the towering figures in religious Jewish history.

Currently, I am about halfway through with Kitchen Table Wisdom, a fabulous book that I know I will read more than once. This book was a bestseller when it first was published about 20 years ago. Filled with very short, elegantly written stories from her life as a daughter, a patient with a serious, life-threatening illness, a physician, and then a counselor to cancer patients, author Rachel Naomi Remen fills every page with quiet wisdom. It is no surprise that she became a pioneer in the field of integrative health. I don’t have to get to the end of this book to recommend it as strongly as possible.

New reader raves for The Skeptic and the Rabbi

From Amazon reader reviews:

“[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.”

“This is a book that will stay with you for a very long time. It is food for the soul.”

More book clubs are selecting The Skeptic and the Rabbi for their groups. Why not yours?

Click here to purchase your copy of The Skeptic and The Rabbi: Falling in Love With Faith

February 2019

I am happy to relaunch my News & Note s newsletter after a very long hiatus. I love the new look, and hope you will find it easy to read and worthy of sharing with others.

I’ve been productively busy with many writing projects, and am especially excited to share the publication of my first fiction story, published today in the Jewish Journal . (See below). I’m also doing more work as a book editor and ghostwriter, while also keeping up my feature and essay writing and promotional events for my book, The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith.

I never get tired of my work. Each assignment, whether short feature or book-length topic, teaches me new things. Recent and current projects have taught me about best leadership practices, holistic approaches to treating cancer, and nuances in dealing with people who have sensitive emotional make-ups.

For a good part of the last year, I was not feeling so great. In fact, I felt lousy and tired much of the time. I am extremely grateful to be feeling so much better now. I’m doing more yoga (Namaste!), and while I do not stand on my head as some of my classmates do, I am pretty proud of myself for getting stronger and more balanced through the practices. Picking up my youngest grandchildren is also wonderful form of exercise, though they are heavy to use as free weights and I must put them down after a short while. The other day I reached into a jacket pocket when I was out for an errand and pulled out a pacifier — sure evidence that I am also active in my role as Nana Gruen to our four beautiful, smart and funny grandchildren. (What else did you think I would have said about them?)

In trying to pick a suitable image to reinvent my newsletter, I couldn’t think of a better one than this incredible set up celebrating a life involvement with books, a photo that any bibliophile will love. I took this photo at The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. A worthy place to visit! I picked up two used volumes of Bernard Malamud short stories and am eager to dive in.

Books that I have recently read and highly recommend include Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill , by Sonia Purnell. Mrs. Churchill was Sir Winston’s secret weapon, and it was very eye-opening to read about how much her political astuteness, powers of diplomacy, dynamism and endless support are vastly underappreciated contributions to her husband’s career. Keeping with the British theme, I also just finished The Summer Before the War, and reread Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand , both based in England and written by the wonderful Helen Simonson. She is one of my favorites.

My four-year-old granddaughter has recently learned that fiction means that a book is not true, and it is so cute that almost any book I read to her from our book of children’s titles will prompt her to ask, “Is this fiction?” even when the main characters are dogs or teddy bears. This is part of the joy of having grandchildren nearby. So is having them rush into the house on a rainy Sunday to color, string beads, and raid my pantry. Jeff and I are so blessed to have them near us.

“The Inheritance” — My first short fiction story, published in the Jewish Journal

This is a big milestone for me — a short story I first wrote years ago, and have revised many times since then — has found a home in the Jewish Journal , which does not normally publish fiction. “The Inheritance” is the story of a couple facing a growing rift in their marriage over their diverging approaches to Jewish tradition. I would love to know what you think of it. Please post comments via Facebook at the end of the story, or write to me at judyrgruen@gmail.com.

After so many years of writing non-fiction exclusively, I wondered if I could write a good short story. You will have to be the judge of that.

Read the story here

“Getting Older and Looking it Too” Essay in the New York Daily News

I was pleased to have my first essay in the New York Daily News recently. Here’s how it begins:

“I’m at the gym, fruitlessly trying to keep up with an endless loop of ab crunches. I steal a look at the clock; has it only been 12 minutes since class began? Oral surgery goes faster than this.

Most of the other dozen or so women here are young enough to be my daughters, beautiful and toned enough to be on TV. But this is West Hollywood — they probably are on TV when they aren’t perfecting the Body Beautiful. The woman to my right looks like she might also be in her late 50s, but who can tell? In Los Angeles, it’s a misdemeanor to look older than 35.”

Read the rest of the story here

So many articles, so little time

I ‘ve published several pieces since last sending out a newsletter, but I’ll highlight two of them here. In “Stop the Sloganeering on the Cereal Aisle,” I write about how politically, socially, environmentally and gastronomically correct shopping is driving me nuts. It’s also an economically unsustainable practice.

Read the story here

Aish.com just published a longer-than-usual story of mine based on the new book by father-and-son writers David and Nic Sheff,High: Everything You Want to Know about Drugs, Alcohol. and Addiction. The book was written for teens but is important for anyone who is involved in a teenager’s life.

David Sheff is the author of the book, “Beautiful Boy,” recently made into a movie. Both father and son have written memoirs about their experiences with Nic’s years of addiction.

Read this story here

New reader raves for The Skeptic and the Rabbi

From Amazon reader reviews:

“This was a fabulous book. It helped me understand a whole other way of life.”

“Judy is a captivating writer and she explains what it’s like to become observant . . . Kudos to her for putting a positive Orthodox Jewish story out into the world.”

“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.”

By the way, more book clubs are choosing my memoir to read — why not yours? I’m appearing at local book clubs, but if you’re far away, I can show up via Skype or Zoom!

Click here to purchase your copy of The Skeptic and The Rabbi: Falling in Love With Faith

Mothers and fathers across the country are beginning to catch their collective breaths because school has begun! In recognition of this milestone, I offered as my first contribution to the new online magazine called Nashim one of my favorite columns, called The Kids Are Back in School and I’m Broke. I am really glad that over the years I chose to write so many “evergreen” columns as opposed to time-sensitive pieces, because now I can share some of my tales from the front lines of motherhood with a younger generation of parents. So far, they are enjoying the parental  commiseration!

Speaking of school, three of our four children are employed as teachers in Jewish education, and our son who is not actively teaching is in law school, but he also teaches on the side. Jeff and I are so proud of our kids for so many reasons, first and foremost because they are wonderful human beings who have brought into our family equally wonderful spouses and in a few cases, grandchildren (lots of extra points for grandchildren!). We are proud of their commitment to Jewish education, where they have the potential to have enormous and lasting positive impact on how children learn, and see the world, and their place in it.

The latest news about The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith

For you Kindle readers who haven’t yet downloaded The Skeptic and the Rabbi, hurry up! Now through September 7, it’s on sale for the practically free price of .99! As they say on the radio, “this promotion won’t last,” so here’s the direct link to purchase: https://amzn.to/2OyswqS

In other news, the audiobook version is in the final editing stages, and I hope that within a month it will be for sale. As soon as it is, I’ll let you know and will also upload an audio clip from the first chapter. I couldn’t have asked for a better narrator, Susanna Burney, and producer, Lyssa Browne of Cedar House Audio.

I continue to hear from readers who are enjoying my memoir. Recently, a college student with an exuberant personality wrote to tell me it literally has changed her life. Now that was an incredible thing. We are now corresponding, as she begins to make pivotal decisions about her own life’s journey, and I am reminded of the huge responsibility it is to put your writing out there–you do not know the impact it may have.

I also know of a few high school teachers who are adding The Skeptic and the Rabbi to their class reading lists. For local schools, of course I’m available to come and speak to the classes. I think my book can really help give teens as well as adults the courage of their convictions, especially in an age where the pressures to “resist” nearly all forms of traditional values is exceptionally strong.

Links to recently published columns

I was prompted to write When Name Calling Is a Good Thing, published in the Jewish Journal, when I began to notice that the simple act of addressing people by name, whether store clerks, customer service agents on the phone, or anywhere else, made a big difference in our otherwise small interactions. Try it and see what happens!

On Aish.com, I wrote a review of a wonderful documentary titled 93Queen, about the first all-woman (and all Hasidic) EMS squad serving the Orthodox community of Borough Park, New York. You’ll find this one fascinating. In the process, I was able to interview Judge Ruchie Freier, the first female Hasidic judge elected in New York, who was the primary mover and shaker behind the EMS squad, called Ezras Nashim.

And on The Wisdom Daily, you won’t be surprised to see me arguing against the commonplace use of profanity in the essay Is Overuse of Profanity Harming our Society?

Also on the same website, I pled guilty to irrational emotions when it was time to retire an aged food processor. You can read about it in my column Why I Get Sentimental About Old Kitchen Appliances.

Rosh Hashana — What Awaits Us in the New Year?

In a little more than a week Jews will usher in our High Holidays: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and then Sukkot and Simchat Torah. September will be jam-packed with reflection, prayer, celebration, and unless we are very, very careful, way too much food. I will have an essay in next week’s Jewish Journal about seeing ourselves as worthy of God’s love, attention and forgiveness (when we need it); I hope some of you might go to their website and check it out–it will be online beginning September 7.

I wish each and every one of you a meaningful beginning to the Jewish New Year, or to the fall season, or both–just wishing you health and blessings all around.

One last note: I have a new email address: judyrgruen@gmail.com. Please write to me at this address going forward.

All the best,

Judy

On Friday it turned blisteringly HOT here in Los Angeles. We had been fortunate that all of Spring, and all of June were lovely and temperate. It was only a matter of time before the sun began to beat down on us in the triple digits. It was so hot, in fact, that in the midst of writing this long-overdue note we had a power outage in my neighborhood, so there went not only my plans to press the “send” button to my subscribers, but I also had to scramble to bring our Shabbat meal to the friends we had invited here for dinner.

It would have been no fun to have a meal in a meltingly hot, dark dining room, so we went to our friends instead, whose AC was on, but when we walked home at 10:30 p.m., the city workers were still trying to get the power back on after six hours. Very fortunately, most of our block was already powered up and our AC was laboring to cool down the house. I hope the rest of the summer won’t be quite this scorching here, and for you, wherever you live!

Recent Articles
Since it’s been so long since I’ve sent out a note, there is a longer-than-usual list of recent articles to share with you. I’m pleased to have made my first contribution to The Wisdom Daily, with a column about my sometimes conflicted feelings when charity-seekers knock on my door.

And on Aish.com, I hope you will check out my story about the marvelous new movie, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, about Fred Rogers. This documentary is fascinating, heartwarming, and important. It’s very much about the values of caring and civility, and of putting children first in a meaningful way, not a superficial one.

Other pieces on Aish.com include an essay about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, as seen through the Book of Ruth; my review of the Amy Schumer comedy, I Feel Pretty, a mediocre movie that explores an interesting question, about the role of confidence in making a woman feel attractive; and an essay reflecting on interfaith marriages.

Recommended Books!

Check out my reviews on Goodreads from these terrific titles: If All the Seas Were Ink, a memoir by Ilana Kurshan; Come Back for Me, historical fiction by Sharon Hart-Greene, Conversations with God: Prayers for Jewish Women, a lovely, relatable guide to prayers by Ruchi Koval, and Jumping Over Shadows, Annette Gendler’s fascinating story about her conversion to Judaism as a gentile growing up in post-war Germany.

Not yet reviewed but highly recommended: Ann Patchett’s wonderful novels Commonwealth and Bel Canto. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to getting around to reading the work of this tremendously talented and justly acclaimed author.

Other News
I am excited to announce that an audiobook of The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith, will soon be in the works. In recent months I have been listening to dozens of potential narrators, trying to find that special voice who can best capture my own in telling this very personal story. I’m down to a few finalists, both extremely talented but with quite different tones. I never imagined it would be so hard to choose! I’ll certainly keep you posted when the audiobook is available; I hope by the end of the summer.

More 5-star reviews are being added to my book’s Amazon page; if you have not yet read my memoir, or have been waiting for “the right time,” now is it! It is available in both softcover and ebook and makes a wonderful gift, book club selection. I’m so pleased that several high school and college writing instructors are also planning to add it to their class lists this fall.

From the latest Amazon reviews:

“Judy Gruen makes her memoir about embracing Jewish religious observances extremely warm and with a healthy sprinkling of humor. It can probably resonate with people from any faith. This is a very realistic look at Orthodox Judaism through the eyes of a woman who had many preconceived ideas.” 

“I have recently begun digging into the Jewish roots of my faith. I’m sure exactly where to begin I didn’t know what to expect when I got this book but I was so quickly drawn in and it wasn’t long before I finished reading this one. It’s amazing how everything comes to life within the pages of this book. So many amazing things I learned simple details that weren’t as simple as I once thought. And so many wonderful ideas I gained for myself as to how to move forward and live this out within my family.”

Finally, I have all but wrapped up another book project that has taken a great deal of concentrated time and energy. I can’t say too much about it because this time, I have been the ghostwriter, the silent partner behind the author of record. I welcomed this opportunity after the intensity of working on my memoir and the surprising fatigue that followed its publication. I am proud of this book as well, and am gratified that I have helped a person of great erudition and wisdom bring his message to the public.

I thank all of you who continue to follow my work, read and recommend my books, and write to me via my website or on Facebook. It is such a pleasure and satisfaction to have your support.

Stay well, stay cool, and read great books!

With warm wishes (unrelated to the outside heat),

Judy

Baby Love

Dear Readers,

This season has brought joy and blessing to our family. Our fourth grandchild, our second grandson, was born January 14, at a strapping 9 pounds, 2 ounces. His name is Reuven Yitzchak (Robert Issac), carrying the name of both his great-grandfathers.

We feel enormously blessed to have children who are bringing in a new generation to the world. So many people are not making parenthood a priority; and I hope they will change their minds for all the right reasons! We are especially fortunate that our grandchildren live nearby, filling our lives with joy, trips to the park, and yes, sometimes sprained shoulders or sore backs from too much lifting of little people topping 30 or 40 pounds!

This was also the third time I had the privilege of attending a grandchild’s birth. It is dramatic and awesome to witness it. What a miracle!

New columns, reviews, and other professional news

Professionally I have also been busy. My recent columns on Aish.com include my observations after my first experience knowing someone who chose physician-assisted suicide — something that affected me very powerfully. Other columns focused on Harvey Weinstein and the “Me-Too” phenomenon, a promising twist in the world of fashion, and more. You can check out my whole line up of stories on this wonderful website here.

I also taught my first Zoom-based seminar on the mechanics of persuasive writing to a group of women writers around the world. It was so satisfying to teach what I have learned over the course of so many years, and I look forward to more such opportunities.

My new book, The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith, has earned a growing number of glowing reviews, and was chosen as the book review of the month in December on Story Circle Network.

Reviewer Susan Hanson wrote: “While offering the reader a greater understanding of Orthodox practices, Gruen’s memoir can speak to a person of any faith–or even none. Indeed, the experience she describes could easily belong to a young Muslim woman who chooses to wear the hijab in defiance of her family, or a Christian who forgoes a lucrative career to work with the poor. At heart, this is a book about finding and claiming one’s identity, about authentic choices, about embracing tradition out of love and not duty.”

In addition to appearing on a number of radio programs and podcasts, writer Kylie Lobell did a nice profile of me in the Jewish Journal.

I am so pleased by the enthusiastic reception to my book. If you don’t have a copy yet, don’t wait any longer! Please consider making your purchase from Barnes & Noble, which has  generously stocked the book in many stores and of course also online.  Reviews are especially appreciated on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon, by the way.

Are you a member of a book club? If so, The Skeptic and the Rabbi has a terrific readers’ guide, and I am happily bookable for Skype- or Zoom-based book club events!

The Flu Blues

This has also truly been “the winter of our discontent,” with virulent flu viruses causing mayhem and misery for millions of people. I have been among those hit hard, and still trying to recover my full strength after being walloped very suddenly on December 10 — a night that will live in infamy for me. It came over me minutes after Jeff and I were seated in the balcony section of a concert hall and enjoying the Concerto Number 3 in G Major of the full set of Brandenburg Concertos, played by the wonderful Los Angeles County Chamber Orchestra. We had to leave before the first movement finished, presto! I hope I will be fully energetic again soon, and I hope all of YOU are well and stay that way!

With warm wishes for a healthy rest of the winter,

Judy