Life in the Present Tense: Reflections on Family and Faith

by Rifka Rosenwein, Tova Mirvis (Foreword), Robert Goldblum (Introduction)

For seven years, Rifka Rosenwein voiced the pleasures and frustrations of her life in "The Home Front," a monthly column in The New York Jewish Week. Whether discussing religion and family, her torchbearer perspective as the daughter of Holocaust survivors, or the tensions between motherhood and career, Rifka's storytelling always struck a chord with readers. Rifka captures the details of motherhood - from the first love in kindergarten, to the first painful separation of overnight camp, to the discovery that her daughter might just need a doll after all. After her diagnosis of terminal cancer, her columns describe life on "cancer time." She generously shared with readers the steadfast support of friends and community. Together, the 64 columns collected in Life in the Present Tense are a death-defying celebration of life.

204 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[CHERYL A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just could not get into the book, disjointed and I stopped reading/enjoying.

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read one of Rifka Rosenwein's columns in an issue of the magazine Jewish Living. From the outset (and the book doesn't hide this so I'm not spoiling anything) I knew about her ultimately failed battle with cancer, which she writes about in her columns. Indeed, the words of a woman slapped in the face by her own mortality are moving and heartbreaking. But they were not what most consumed me in this collection. Rosenwein was a Modern Orthodox Jew, far more observant than I have ever been or will likely ever be. However, many of her columns are concerned with the daily balancing act of raising children, having a career, maintaining a marriage, and running a Jewish household. All of these are roles I would like to embody in the not so distant future, and though they are none of them imminent, they are important enough that I worry about them already. Rosenwein's column makes me feel not that this balancing act is easy, but that it is worth it.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read these collected essays; I had read many of them at the time they were originally published in The Jewish Week.