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emilyren's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
lilyrich's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
fuck this shit it hit way too hard
melwyk's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent read. A soul-baring, honest story of Pick's search for her Jewish roots. She manages to capture the tiniest personal moments without making the reader feel like a voyeur. And the writing itself is beautiful.
bpag314's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
lovelyoutliers's review against another edition
3.0
This memoir is focused on Alison, a writer living in Toronto with her fiance, who is coming to terms with her family's Jewish history, exploring her roots, and figuring out what it means for her and her identity. It was an ok read, but not amazing.
middle_name_joy's review
4.0
I had this on my to-read list for years. The reason I held out hope my library would acquire a copy (rarely do I buy books on my teacher's salary) was because I felt a connection with Alison Pick's experience. I, too, had family that pushed aside Jewish roots out of fear following the Shoah. I, too, have been impacted by the weighty non-presence of my ancestors and their culture. I, too, have had depression.
As I started to (finally!) read, I was drawn in by Pick's exploration of her family's hidden Jewish heritage, as well as her lovely use of language and turns of phrase that often bore rereading. Details of her conversion journey were interesting and informative. She knew so very little about the Jewish culture in the beginning that I was able to revel in my moderate base of knowledge. I don't usually preen, but here I did.
But that's also when I realized a truth: Pick really felt she was treading a new path. That her grandparents were the only ones to ever hide their Jewish identity. That she was the first to feel a connection to her ancestors that perished long before her birth. That she was the first to decide to convert to Judaism.
Also, she blamed her depression on "bad blood" (as did her father and grandmother). Depression is hereditary; it's in our genes. It's also influenced by outside factors. Depression often exists where there is a large amount of dysfunction. There is also ongoing research being conducted on the effect of severe trauma altering our genes. Residual trauma, echoing down generations. A lot of this research looks at Holocaust survivors and their descendants. I find these trains of scientific thought fascinating. But I think there is danger in blaming one's depression on their ancestors' experiences and not recognizing their part in it.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Pick's depression took a backseat the further along she went in her conversion process.
It would be enlightening to catch up with Pick in another memoir, all these years later. Her desire to convert stemmed so much from longing for a connection to something she felt lost to her, kept from her by her family. She had that convert zeal. A New Jew. And I do think she felt superior to her family in some ways because she had resurrected that element of their history. I would like to see how she is getting on living as a Jew.
As I started to (finally!) read, I was drawn in by Pick's exploration of her family's hidden Jewish heritage, as well as her lovely use of language and turns of phrase that often bore rereading. Details of her conversion journey were interesting and informative. She knew so very little about the Jewish culture in the beginning that I was able to revel in my moderate base of knowledge. I don't usually preen, but here I did.
But that's also when I realized a truth: Pick really felt she was treading a new path. That her grandparents were the only ones to ever hide their Jewish identity. That she was the first to feel a connection to her ancestors that perished long before her birth. That she was the first to decide to convert to Judaism.
Also, she blamed her depression on "bad blood" (as did her father and grandmother). Depression is hereditary; it's in our genes. It's also influenced by outside factors. Depression often exists where there is a large amount of dysfunction. There is also ongoing research being conducted on the effect of severe trauma altering our genes. Residual trauma, echoing down generations. A lot of this research looks at Holocaust survivors and their descendants. I find these trains of scientific thought fascinating. But I think there is danger in blaming one's depression on their ancestors' experiences and not recognizing their part in it.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Pick's depression took a backseat the further along she went in her conversion process.
It would be enlightening to catch up with Pick in another memoir, all these years later. Her desire to convert stemmed so much from longing for a connection to something she felt lost to her, kept from her by her family. She had that convert zeal. A New Jew. And I do think she felt superior to her family in some ways because she had resurrected that element of their history. I would like to see how she is getting on living as a Jew.
bookwormmichelle's review against another edition
5.0
Well. I just recently read another memoir that seemed whiny. And the author of this one seemed depressed most of the book. But . . . I loved this one. I could almost feel her struggles as she tried to decide whether to convert to the Jewish faith of her ancestors and what this would mean for her own family. Couldn't put this one down. Wonderful story. Honest and compelling.
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
I will put a quote here when the book is published
I seem to have run the gamut on Christianity over these past few months. I have read a book about grace, one about people who are leaving the church even though they are still believers, another about Christians who are examining the way they see the Bible, and then a book about evangelicals who are trying to change the more conservative wing of Christianity. I read often about my faith, but I have been especially eclectic lately.
Which brings me to Between Gods. Alison Pick was raised as a Christian, but it turns out that her paternal grandparents were Jewish and barely got out of Europe with their lives during World War II. Once in Canada, knowing that relatives had been taken to the concentration camps, Pick’s family became Episcopalians. So Pick starts her life being raised as a Christian.
Pick feels drawn back to her family’s ancestral faith. This memoir is about her journey to her “conversion” to Judaism. It was a long, intense struggle for Pick and I found it fascinating. I grew up among both Jews and Christians, but I have never known anyone who converted from one religion to the other. I would not have guessed that changing your faith could be so complicated.
I know from my class on Women and Judaism that Jews do not encourage conversion. However, given Pick’s family history, I would have thought that the rabbis and teachers that Pick talks to would have been glad to have someone return to their faith. I think most Christian denominations would have welcomed such a “lost sheep” with open arms.
Pick is a poet and has written a novel about the Holocaust. Her writing is beautiful. During her period of being “between Gods” there were many other changes happening in her life. She writes with clarity and attention to detail so that the reader can see the transformation that happens to her life while she is converting.
I don’t know what made me pick this book through the Edelweiss program. However, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I have learned a great deal about Pick’s life and I have been able to think about how my life would change if I lived in different circumstances.
If you have any interest in women’s lives or in stories from the Holocaust, try this memoir. If you are Jewish or interested in Judaism, I strongly recommend this story to you. If you are a reader like me, who wants to inhabit new and different worlds, then you too may want to pick this up when it is published in this country. I believe that Pick’s story is unusual and well told.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Perennial.
I seem to have run the gamut on Christianity over these past few months. I have read a book about grace, one about people who are leaving the church even though they are still believers, another about Christians who are examining the way they see the Bible, and then a book about evangelicals who are trying to change the more conservative wing of Christianity. I read often about my faith, but I have been especially eclectic lately.
Which brings me to Between Gods. Alison Pick was raised as a Christian, but it turns out that her paternal grandparents were Jewish and barely got out of Europe with their lives during World War II. Once in Canada, knowing that relatives had been taken to the concentration camps, Pick’s family became Episcopalians. So Pick starts her life being raised as a Christian.
Pick feels drawn back to her family’s ancestral faith. This memoir is about her journey to her “conversion” to Judaism. It was a long, intense struggle for Pick and I found it fascinating. I grew up among both Jews and Christians, but I have never known anyone who converted from one religion to the other. I would not have guessed that changing your faith could be so complicated.
I know from my class on Women and Judaism that Jews do not encourage conversion. However, given Pick’s family history, I would have thought that the rabbis and teachers that Pick talks to would have been glad to have someone return to their faith. I think most Christian denominations would have welcomed such a “lost sheep” with open arms.
Pick is a poet and has written a novel about the Holocaust. Her writing is beautiful. During her period of being “between Gods” there were many other changes happening in her life. She writes with clarity and attention to detail so that the reader can see the transformation that happens to her life while she is converting.
I don’t know what made me pick this book through the Edelweiss program. However, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I have learned a great deal about Pick’s life and I have been able to think about how my life would change if I lived in different circumstances.
If you have any interest in women’s lives or in stories from the Holocaust, try this memoir. If you are Jewish or interested in Judaism, I strongly recommend this story to you. If you are a reader like me, who wants to inhabit new and different worlds, then you too may want to pick this up when it is published in this country. I believe that Pick’s story is unusual and well told.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Perennial.
beccak's review against another edition
4.0
There are many levels on which the reader can read and appreciate Pick's memoir, Between Gods.
1) As a psychological memoir, detailing the ups-and-downs of depression, particularly in relation to the spiritual life of humans.
2) As a part of the Shoah narrative.
3) As a Jewish book, detailing the choices of a convert and connection with various beliefs and practices.
Between Gods very much addresses the first two issues so well, I'd like to see it used in classrooms where depression and/or the Shoah are discussed. When Pick describes the heaviness, the indecisiveness, the confusion of mild-to-moderate depression, her images really resound with me, recalling a year of depression in my early twenties and several blue periods I've experienced since then. She also describes pregnancy loss and PPD, which I think many readers will find therapeutic. These topics are unfortunately rarely discussed, and to see a first-hand account handled with sensitivity destigmatizes them and validates the emotions who have shared those experiences.
Pick's description of the Holocaust's aftermath, and how it continues to affect the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of survivors, also touched on things friends and colleagues have shared with me, adding depth and complexity to my understanding of their heritage. At first, I found Pick's accounts of visits to her psychologist to be odd, but as the memoir progressed, Charlotte (her therapist) adds a couple profound insights the really illuminated things.
As someone who is Orthodox, I had a little more trouble with the book from a religious perspective. I had to set aside several of my opinions on issues Pick brings up - most pertinent is the overly-simplified explanation of why Conservative and Orthodox Jews rely on matrilineal decent. Nonetheless, the way hashgacha pratis (divine intervention in the guise of "coincidence" which is anything but coincidental) weaves throughout her tale and the beautiful descriptions of Shabbos and how she and her partner connect to certain practices and ideas really spoke to me. I think they will speak to any person of faith (probably, of any faith).
The end of the book mentions that certain events and people were "adjusted." There are definitely reasons to question this practice in memoir-writing, as it has been much abused. I don't get that sense here. Indeed, I was comforted by the fact that a couple of the "characters" Pick presents us with don't have their real names in the text. They don't always show up very sympathetically, and I think that using different names and circumstances for them in the book probably allowed Pick to be MORE honest about their words and behavior, while maintaining these people's privacy. This is just my opinion.
Highly recommended. Due to two "bad" words, as well as (more importantly) details about Pick's love life and obstetric health (which are handled tastefully, but honestly), I would not recommend the book to readers under 18, at least.
1) As a psychological memoir, detailing the ups-and-downs of depression, particularly in relation to the spiritual life of humans.
2) As a part of the Shoah narrative.
3) As a Jewish book, detailing the choices of a convert and connection with various beliefs and practices.
Between Gods very much addresses the first two issues so well, I'd like to see it used in classrooms where depression and/or the Shoah are discussed. When Pick describes the heaviness, the indecisiveness, the confusion of mild-to-moderate depression, her images really resound with me, recalling a year of depression in my early twenties and several blue periods I've experienced since then. She also describes pregnancy loss and PPD, which I think many readers will find therapeutic. These topics are unfortunately rarely discussed, and to see a first-hand account handled with sensitivity destigmatizes them and validates the emotions who have shared those experiences.
Pick's description of the Holocaust's aftermath, and how it continues to affect the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of survivors, also touched on things friends and colleagues have shared with me, adding depth and complexity to my understanding of their heritage. At first, I found Pick's accounts of visits to her psychologist to be odd, but as the memoir progressed, Charlotte (her therapist) adds a couple profound insights the really illuminated things.
As someone who is Orthodox, I had a little more trouble with the book from a religious perspective. I had to set aside several of my opinions on issues Pick brings up - most pertinent is the overly-simplified explanation of why Conservative and Orthodox Jews rely on matrilineal decent. Nonetheless, the way hashgacha pratis (divine intervention in the guise of "coincidence" which is anything but coincidental) weaves throughout her tale and the beautiful descriptions of Shabbos and how she and her partner connect to certain practices and ideas really spoke to me. I think they will speak to any person of faith (probably, of any faith).
The end of the book mentions that certain events and people were "adjusted." There are definitely reasons to question this practice in memoir-writing, as it has been much abused. I don't get that sense here. Indeed, I was comforted by the fact that a couple of the "characters" Pick presents us with don't have their real names in the text. They don't always show up very sympathetically, and I think that using different names and circumstances for them in the book probably allowed Pick to be MORE honest about their words and behavior, while maintaining these people's privacy. This is just my opinion.
Highly recommended. Due to two "bad" words, as well as (more importantly) details about Pick's love life and obstetric health (which are handled tastefully, but honestly), I would not recommend the book to readers under 18, at least.
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