She grew up in an upper-middle-class Protestant family in New England. She can trace her father's family back to the Mayflower. Yet, "Judaism was to be my bashert, my destiny," maintains Linda Shires - wife, mother, professor, and author. For almost twenty years, she lived the life of a Jewish wife, passing as a Jew when she participated in Jewish holiday rituals with her husband and her three step-children. When she wanted, she thought of herself as a Christian. But after deciding to ground her child in one religious tradition, Shires discovered her own. Coming Home tells the story of why a former WASP Debutante opted for a position at the margins: a Jew-by-Choice and why she became committed to a life of religious observance and questioning. Her narrative is quietly passionate, spiritual, and learned as it moves from the halls of Princeton to the Holocaust camps of Germany and back again. This richly felt story of conversion to Judaism expands our idea of what constitutes a spiritual journey and a religious practice.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Thinking of Conversion:
I've been thinking about converting for two years. I read Kukoff's book and Embracing the Convenant for the same reasons but was looking for a single person's journey in depth rather than a bunch of quotes or a series of stories by others. Shires doesn't speak just for herself, though, but for many who are wondering about taking such a huge step. Judaism is a different world view. Even making a meal involves questions and decisions. She talks about moments like that. This is not a how-to book but it treats... more info
Fumbled focus:
I agree with the reviewer who felt that Ms. Shires's textual analysis didn't flow well. I found the majority of this book to be rather dull, tedious, slow-going, and uninvolving. It was an original idea to tell the story of her conversion by relating issues she had difficulty with or areas she found inspiration in to certain passages of Torah and the similar writings of others, but it just didn't seem executed well. If this is supposed to be a conversion memoir, why does so little of the book actually... more info
Moving and smart:
Some books make you think and this is one of them. She engages with the traditions in different ways than most. It challenged me to think about Jewish life and Torah freshly. I found the beginning and the last section about going to Germany most moving.
A difficult read:
I have read many individual conversion stories to Judaism. The majority are remarkable and beautiful as they highlight the personal transformation of an individual's path to conversion. That said, I found this book to be very tedious. The textual analysis did not flow well and it did not keep my attention.
