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khornstein1's review
5.0
Thank you, Susan. This is an excellent book. Well written, well edited and best of all, not apologetic at all! I was so glad to read a book that is so clearly enthusiastic about the experience of raising children in more than one faith. I found myself saying "amen" (silently, in my head, since I was on the plane) almost every page!
I really hope that this book gets widely read and distributed. I feel that the interfaith communities where children are educated and families celebrate are still really hidden, so that when people do hear about them they act as if they are part of some crazy, untested theory rather than something that has been going on for years. I was surprised at how old some of the "where are they now?" kids were!
I also want to thank you for your honesty in sharing your story. It's not easy. I totally understand the "sighs" you talk about. Good work.
I really hope that this book gets widely read and distributed. I feel that the interfaith communities where children are educated and families celebrate are still really hidden, so that when people do hear about them they act as if they are part of some crazy, untested theory rather than something that has been going on for years. I was surprised at how old some of the "where are they now?" kids were!
I also want to thank you for your honesty in sharing your story. It's not easy. I totally understand the "sighs" you talk about. Good work.
carolynf's review
3.0
The majority of the book consists of anecdotes about various Jewish and Christian blended families, and how their choice of religion works for them. The first chapter is very interesting as this is the story of the author's own family, and there is one other chapter that deals with interfaith families that are now Jewish and Christian. The main message of the book is that when two spouses come from different religious traditions, learning about both backgrounds actually helps children develop stronger faith. The author admits that this only works if both spouses come from a progressive religious background, that does not believe that a person goes to hell if they do not follow the "correct" religion, with utter devotion to every tenet and practice. I will admit that I did not get more than a third of the way through the book because I got tired of hearing about just Jews and Christians all the time. But in the parts that I read I did not encounter any stories about people who were not able to make interfaith religion work for their family, and hypotheses about why it didn't work out for them. Or when happens when one spouse is very religious and the other is casual about their religion, or agnostic. In short, I was expecting more of a do's and don't's for various scenarios and situations, rather than just the positive stories resulting from one particular religious mix.
zluke's review
5.0
I'm Catholic and my partner is exploring converting to Judaism, from previously identifying themselves as agnostic or atheist. This has brought up many questions about the future of our relationship such as how to continue to practice our faiths, how we should married and how to bring up our future children.
In looking for resources online I found many which said that you would have to pick a religion and bringing your children up in two religions wasn't possible. I knew I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable bringing my children up completely in Judaism, but my partner is keen on educating them and celebrating Jewish traditions with them in the home. Equally I would want to teach them about Catholicism and take them to Mass.
When I stumbled on this book, it seemed perfect as the author is interfaith, with both Christian and Jewish connections. Suddenly there was someone saying that other people had done what we were thinking of doing and that it had been successful.
The book itself I found to be an interesting but easy-going read. It covers many different aspects and a variety of relationships and ways of doing things. It is primarily focused on Christian-Jewish relationships, but for us this was good as it was what we were looking for.
It contains excerpts from the author's original research into interfaith families and their children, with many insightful quotes. A chapter is dedicated to some of the clergy who work with interfaith families, and I found this to be very inspiring. One of the worries I have is facing opposition from clergy and communities so reading this gave me some hope.
A lot of the book is understandably very US-centered, mainly around some of the interfaith family programs based in US cities which seem amazing. It makes me hope that we are able to find or build a similar community around us. As we're based in England there are some cultural differences, some of which are briefly alluded to in the book, but we could still empathise with and be inspired by so many of the stories. There are also some links to UK and other country resources at the end of the book,which I'm sure we will find helpful.
This book has opened my eyes to the ways in which it is possible to navigate and interfaith relationship and family. It has helped me to understand how our two faiths can coexist and how we can educate our children in both faiths. It has helped me feel more comfortable with practicing Jewish ritual in the home and has been a good introduction for encouraging me to learn more about both of our faiths.
I am sure this is a book we will be reading and going back to over the years as it's such a wonderful and inspiring resource.
In looking for resources online I found many which said that you would have to pick a religion and bringing your children up in two religions wasn't possible. I knew I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable bringing my children up completely in Judaism, but my partner is keen on educating them and celebrating Jewish traditions with them in the home. Equally I would want to teach them about Catholicism and take them to Mass.
When I stumbled on this book, it seemed perfect as the author is interfaith, with both Christian and Jewish connections. Suddenly there was someone saying that other people had done what we were thinking of doing and that it had been successful.
The book itself I found to be an interesting but easy-going read. It covers many different aspects and a variety of relationships and ways of doing things. It is primarily focused on Christian-Jewish relationships, but for us this was good as it was what we were looking for.
It contains excerpts from the author's original research into interfaith families and their children, with many insightful quotes. A chapter is dedicated to some of the clergy who work with interfaith families, and I found this to be very inspiring. One of the worries I have is facing opposition from clergy and communities so reading this gave me some hope.
A lot of the book is understandably very US-centered, mainly around some of the interfaith family programs based in US cities which seem amazing. It makes me hope that we are able to find or build a similar community around us. As we're based in England there are some cultural differences, some of which are briefly alluded to in the book, but we could still empathise with and be inspired by so many of the stories. There are also some links to UK and other country resources at the end of the book,which I'm sure we will find helpful.
This book has opened my eyes to the ways in which it is possible to navigate and interfaith relationship and family. It has helped me to understand how our two faiths can coexist and how we can educate our children in both faiths. It has helped me feel more comfortable with practicing Jewish ritual in the home and has been a good introduction for encouraging me to learn more about both of our faiths.
I am sure this is a book we will be reading and going back to over the years as it's such a wonderful and inspiring resource.
kyladenae94's review
3.0
3 stars not because it was excellently written—it was—but because it didn’t do much to speak to my specific situation, and that was somewhat frustrating. not her fault, though.
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