What a great book! The target audience is people (especially women) who have decided to become Torah-observant and have problems dealing with less observant relatives. Well, I'm pretty much the opposite: totally secular, and (as far as I know) I don't have any relatives or even friends who are as observant as Mrs. Jaffe. Nevertheless, I found this book fascinating! How come? It's a chance to look over the shoulder, as it were, of someone who has decided to follow this path. I have no desire to follow her, but reading about her experiences gave me new respect for those who do: this is obviously something which works for her, and it works well. Something that has puzzled (and worried me) is that the denominations which are thriving today are those whose doctrines and practices are furthest removed from the rationalist secular society: the Mormons are the fastest-growing Christian group, while the Episcopalians languish. And if present trends continue, in 50 years the predominant Jewish group will be of the Torah-observant. Mrs. Jaffe's book gives a hint about why. Now if only we had a similar book from the LDS...
Only we didn't know it! What a mitzvah Mrs. Jaffe has done by writing this book. My rabbi told me about it. When it arrived, I couldn't put it down for 2 days. It is dog-eared to death already! My husband snatched it up once when I went to the bathroom and when I came back exclaimed, "this page is EXACTLY how I grew up!!" (And: "These are EXACTLY the things my parents have said!!" etc.) I don't know how my inlaws might respond if (when?!) we share this book with them, but things are so bad right now that reading this book may be the only thing that salvages any kind of relationship. It's tragic how anti-religious they are, and how anti-religious they were raised by _their_ parents. And it's something of a miracle that I've been able to make a dent (and now more, thank G-d!) in my husband, considering all that! We've had ongoing rabbinic help and help from a frum counselor, but that Jewish guilt is formidable, and the apron strings that attach mother and son past his thirties aren't easily cut. (Groan.) This book doesn't come with backbone, you have to supply that yourself, but if you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and stand up tall and confident with a gentle smile on your face, this book has fantastic suggestions and insights for navigating the rest. Good luck!!!! If you buy this book for the reasons I bought this book, you need it and I wish you the best!!!!!!
