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The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women
What does it mean to be a Jewish woman in America? And what does it mean to be an American women within Judaism?
For five years Diana Bletter and Lori Grinker criss-crossed America to find fresh answers to these questions. From Louisiana to Montana, from Texas to Vermont, they investigated how Jewish women view themselves in relations to their heritage, to other Jews, and to the society in which they live.
The result is a collection of intimate portraits that explode the stereotypes of "Jewish mother" and "Jewish American Princess."
“Author and photographer have collaborated to bring an extraordinarily diverse group of voices into print, evoking images that lift away traditional stereotypes of Jewish-American women.” — Judy Chicurel, The New York Times
A unique and vibrant portrait of 60 women -- from a film director to a governor and a Texas farmer -- exploring how to juggle faith, spirituality and their Jewish identitiy with their lives, their families, their expectations, and their commitments. Includes 120 black and white photographs.
For five years Diana Bletter and Lori Grinker criss-crossed America to find fresh answers to these questions. From Louisiana to Montana, from Texas to Vermont, they investigated how Jewish women view themselves in relations to their heritage, to other Jews, and to the society in which they live.
The result is a collection of intimate portraits that explode the stereotypes of "Jewish mother" and "Jewish American Princess."
“Author and photographer have collaborated to bring an extraordinarily diverse group of voices into print, evoking images that lift away traditional stereotypes of Jewish-American women.” — Judy Chicurel, The New York Times
A unique and vibrant portrait of 60 women -- from a film director to a governor and a Texas farmer -- exploring how to juggle faith, spirituality and their Jewish identitiy with their lives, their families, their expectations, and their commitments. Includes 120 black and white photographs.
- GenresNonfictionJewish
224 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 1989
104 people want to read
About the author
Diana Bletter
9 books19 followersDiana Bletter is the author of the novel, A Remarkable Kindness (HarperCollins). Her first book, The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women, (written in collaboration with prize-winning photographer Lori Grinker) was nominated for a National Jewish Book Award. Her self-published memoir, The Mom Who Took Off On Her Motorcycle, has been featured on The Jerusalem Post and www.hairpin.com.
Diana is the First Place Winner of Moment Magazine's Short Fiction Contest. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Glamour, beliefnet.com, tabletmag.org, The Forward, The North American Review, The Reading Room, Huffington Post and has been anthologized. Her story, "One Kiss, One Baby, One God," appeared in Commentary Magazine, January 2015. She is also First Prize winner of Family Circle Magazine's 2011 Fiction Contest.
Diana grew up on Long Island and attended Cornell University. After graduating with distinction, she went on to work for several newspapers and magazines, including National Lampoon. A wanderer who likes the expatriate life, she has lived in Paris and Rome and now makes her home in a small beach village on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Israel where she and her husband raised six children and an unofficially adopted daughter from Ethiopia.
Diana is a member of a burial circle, and drew on her personal experiences in her novel, A Remarkable Kindness. She participates in a Jewish-Muslim-Druze-Christian women’s group in Israel dedicated to forging connections among women, remaining idealistic about hope for peace in the Middle East – despite all evidence to the contrary. A tomboy who snowboards, climbs trees and participates in sprint triathlons, she also speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Yiddish and Hebrew and is now learning Arabic, committed to speaking as many foreign languages as possible with the same Americano accent.
Find out more about Diana Bletter's writing at www.dianabletter.com.
Diana is the First Place Winner of Moment Magazine's Short Fiction Contest. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Glamour, beliefnet.com, tabletmag.org, The Forward, The North American Review, The Reading Room, Huffington Post and has been anthologized. Her story, "One Kiss, One Baby, One God," appeared in Commentary Magazine, January 2015. She is also First Prize winner of Family Circle Magazine's 2011 Fiction Contest.
Diana grew up on Long Island and attended Cornell University. After graduating with distinction, she went on to work for several newspapers and magazines, including National Lampoon. A wanderer who likes the expatriate life, she has lived in Paris and Rome and now makes her home in a small beach village on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Israel where she and her husband raised six children and an unofficially adopted daughter from Ethiopia.
Diana is a member of a burial circle, and drew on her personal experiences in her novel, A Remarkable Kindness. She participates in a Jewish-Muslim-Druze-Christian women’s group in Israel dedicated to forging connections among women, remaining idealistic about hope for peace in the Middle East – despite all evidence to the contrary. A tomboy who snowboards, climbs trees and participates in sprint triathlons, she also speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Yiddish and Hebrew and is now learning Arabic, committed to speaking as many foreign languages as possible with the same Americano accent.
Find out more about Diana Bletter's writing at www.dianabletter.com.
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April 25, 2012
"Author and photographer have collaborated to bring an extraordinarily diverse group of voices into print, evoking images that lift away traditional stereotypes of Jewish-American women." -- Judy Chicurel, The New York Times
"It's an exhilarating read on several levels. The book is also just plain fun. Reading it is something like going to a reunion with all your best friends, and having an intimate conversation with each of them about what they've done with their lives and why. It's personal, not to mention inspiring." --Abby Morrison, The Jewish Monthly
"Every once in a while a book comes along which touches and moves the reader to share the experience with others. In the case the book, a photographic essay portraying the rich and complex worlds of American Jewish women, provides just such an experience." --Rela Geffen Monson, Hadassah Magazine
"It's an exhilarating read on several levels. The book is also just plain fun. Reading it is something like going to a reunion with all your best friends, and having an intimate conversation with each of them about what they've done with their lives and why. It's personal, not to mention inspiring." --Abby Morrison, The Jewish Monthly
"Every once in a while a book comes along which touches and moves the reader to share the experience with others. In the case the book, a photographic essay portraying the rich and complex worlds of American Jewish women, provides just such an experience." --Rela Geffen Monson, Hadassah Magazine
Displaying 1 of 1 review