Living a Year of Kaddish: A Memoir

(Paperback)

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This exploration of the emotional and spiritual aspects of spending a year in mourning will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved onefrom the author of The Search for God at Harvard.

"His candid, searching book ... breaks our heart."The New York Times Book Review

Ari Goldman describes how his year in mourning for his father affected him as a son, husband, father, and member of his community. Through the daily recitation of kaddish, Goldman discovered that he could connect with and honor his father and his mother in a way that he could not always do during their lifetimes. And in his daily synagogue attendance, he found his fellow worshipers to be an unexpected source of strength, wisdom, and comfort.

Reviews

"This jewel of a memoir explores the paradox of mourning for an observant Jew. It is a time of piercing aloneness and yet of fortifying community, the community of fellow worshippers saying "kaddish. With tenderness and honesty, Ari Goldman brings the reader, too, inside that circle of loss and resilience."
--Samuel G. Freedman, author of Jew vs. Jew
"Ari Goldman has written a loving tribute to the faith he shared with his father and to its power to heal the wound of bereavement." --Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
"A brave and comforting book about losing your parents and finding yourself and your community. Goldman's chronicle of his year of kaddish is a fine companion while recovering from loss."
--Stephen Fried, author of The New Rabbi: A Congregation Searches for Its Leader

"From the Hardcover edition.

Author Bio

ARI L. GOLDMAN is a professor at Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Journalism and was a reporter for The New York Times from 1973 to 1993. He lives in New York City with his wife and children.