Children of clergy men and women, we think, are supposed to be polite, well bred and follow the same rules as their parents.
Reva Mann broke all of these rules and more.
In her 2008 memoir, The Rabbi’s Daughter, Ms. Mann writes about the extremes in her life and how she found a middle ground.
Ms. Mann is the daughter of a London Rabbi, who himself came from a long line of Rabbi’s. As a young woman, she was more attracted to the world of sex, drugs, rock and roll, non kosher food and non Jewish men than than being the pious, responsible young woman that was expected of her. She then takes a 180 degree turn by enrolling at an Orthodox Yeshiva in Jerusalem and marrying a man who is Ba’al Teshuva, who then increases his own practice of Judaism to the point of becoming Ultra-Orthodox.
I liked this book. Ms. Mann does not hold back in telling her story. Whether it is the sordid tale of inhaling drugs in a dingy London nightclub, the ancient rituals of the ultra-religious Jews or her journey in discovering who she is, she is completely open as a writer. Some of the reviewers on amazon have found her story to be hollow and self centered. I disagree with them. What I saw in her story was that path one takes to figure out who they are. This path sometimes requires us to bounce from one extreme in life to another extreme before we can find a happy medium.
I recommend it.
Writergurlny 