Books coverage is supported by a generous grant from The Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund.
This is J.’s semi-regular column featuring new releases across genres by Jewish authors in Northern California. Writers have been busy creating new works about family history and legacy, as well as Ethiopian Jews. You can find these books online or at your local bookstore.
“The Empty Envelope: Family Secrets and a Grandfather’s Legacy”
by Harvey M. Weinstein and Rhona Weinstein (300 pages, Advanced Publishing)
Eisig Lubetzky, a Jewish writer, died by suicide in 1921 in Vienna, leaving behind his wife, children and family secrets. Generations passed before Lubetzky’s psychologist granddaughter and her psychiatrist husband — the authors — decided to delve into Eisig’s forgotten writings, including letters, manuscripts and articles. In this family memoir, they piece together a history of war and hardship for Austro-Hungarian Jewry in the early 20th century. Along the way, the authors uncover the reasons behind Eisig’s early death, including prejudice and mental illness. Harvey M. Weinstein is a retired psychiatry professor at UC Berkeley. Rhona Weinstein is a psychology professor emerita at UC Berkeley.
“Day of Delight: A Jewish Sabbath in Ethiopia”
by Maxine Rose Shur, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (40 pages, Kalaniot Books)
This children’s picture book brings the reader into Senvetu’s perspective as an Ethiopian child celebrating Shabbat in a traditional Jewish Ethiopian village from the Beta Israel community. Through Senvetu’s eyes, we see beautifully illustrated rituals from gathering honey to grinding grain to baking bread. This book is intended for readers 6 to 8 years old. When purchased from publisher Kalaniot Books’ website, it comes with a downloadable activity guide for kids. Schur is a public speaker on travel and children’s writing. She lives in Novato.
“Pass the Trauma, Please: My Father’s not-so-depressing Holocaust memoir about love, loss, laughter, and legacy”
by Todd Diamond (268 pages, Fig Tree Books)
Diamond writes his father’s story as told over dinner at a Chinese restaurant, mixing humor and irreverence with war and trauma. Diamond aims to honor the gravitas of surviving the Holocaust without — as his father says — the “long-winded descriptions of the smells in the Ghetto, the corpses. Everyone knows this already.” The memoir examines loss and inherited complex trauma that echoes across generations, but it also touches on “drug smuggling, attempts to reverse a circumcision, brothels, kibbutz ambushes, divorce, death camp visits, decadent nights at Studio 54, and tales of lost virginity.” Abe Foxman, the former director of the Anti-Defamation League who died in May, wrote the forward. Diamond’s father lives in San Mateo, and Diamond lives in Washington, D.C.
“Turning”
by Wayne Feinstein (272 pages, Greenleaf Book Group Press)
Joe Fredericks, a wealthy New York City real estate developer, has all the trappings of success. But when he learns his estranged son is dying and doesn’t want to see his father, Joe realizes his success is an empty shell. He reflects on memories with his family, wondering what created the fractures between him and his children. Joe tries to find a new perspective that can help him forge a path forward. Feinstein brings his experience in business as senior vice president at Capital Group to add authenticity to the New York setting. The author also led the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation from 1991 to 2000. He lives in San Francisco.