The Mountain Family: An Appalachian Family of 12 – and their Fascinating Journey to Judaism

From an Amazon.com review: I really enjoyed the first half of the book. I am a Jewish person living in Appalachia right now. Even people who weren’t Jewish could relate to the life she led in the mountains; many had grandparents who lived that way.

Since I also moved to this area from a big city, I enjoyed reading about her culture shock and adjustments.

While I give her credit for her quest of spirituality, I don’t think she gave enough credit to her first husband. While Tzirel had her doubts, it was her husband who steadfastly held to his beliefs that an intermediary wasn’t needed. He came to the realization first, which is an amazing event! She had doubts because of her Christian upbringing, but he held true to his beliefs. She finally came to agree with him, but it took awhile.

I had problems reading about her constant dependence on the community to take care of her and her family. She took EMT training, yet she didn’t go thru with getting the job because “she didn’t like it.” Ma’am, you have a very large family, and support your family!

The part about her life in Israel was ok. She spent too much time talking about her second husband. This book was supposed to be about her mountain family, not her second husband. Also, it seemed like the book we never end. There was an epilogue, and then another chapter.

About Luke Ford

I've written five books (see Amazon.com). My work has been covered in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and on 60 Minutes. I teach Alexander Technique in Beverly Hills (Alexander90210.com).
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