Books To Curl Up With – Spring 2020
Written by Dolores Luber
Kissing An Old Dream Goodbye: A Memoir 1950 – 1959
by Gloria Levi
Give yourself a treat and read this book! The title of the book caught my attention immediately—each one of us has had “to kiss an old dream goodbye”. What had been Gloria Levi’s dream?—to make aliyah, that is, to move to the Jewish State of Israel, to raise her family and to participate in an intense social experiment. Her writing is personal, detailed and honest. Her memory of events is precise and her description of the hardships, disappointments and joys she experienced are deeply felt by the reader. I asked Gloria what her motivation was in writing this book, her third. She replied that she felt that people wanted to know exactly what it was like in Israel in the early days. The clash of ideologies—the Russian Marxist influence versus the Western Democratic model; the struggle of creating a Jewish state with Jews from all over the world, many survivors of the Holocaust, and the now humiliated and conquered Arabs; the creation of Kibbutzim, separate, socialist communities based on equal participation and joint ownership of land—all were to affect Gloria, Norman, her husband and their two children.
Gloria said that the feedback from readers has been intense, they didn’t realize what it took to make this change and commitment, and they remarked on the strength of her relationship with Norman. It took Gloria two years to write the book, I devoured it in a couple of days. I could not put it down. Available at the Waldman Jewish Public Library; also in Kindle Edition.
Chutzpah: Why Israel is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
by Inbal Arieli
Inbal Arieli, Co-founder and CEO of the leadership assessment company Synthesis, concentrates on the behavioural mindset beginning in an Israeli childhood that brews the start-up success seen in Israel. Using stories outlining entrepreneurial success, methods of thinking, and family experiences, the book’s context is broad enough to the point where the skills and thinking needed to succeed as an innovative business leader can transfer to any field.
The upbringing of Israeli children, from birth, early childhood to the Israeli Army and adulthood, is so very different from what I see around me. The attitude of parents and teachers is the opposite of the ‘helicopter parenting’ model prevalent in our society today. Israeli childhood and the cycle of entrepreneurship go hand in hand as elements of experiences, failure, feedback, uncertainty, and improvisation are brought to life. As a senior adult, I learned how to apply her ideas to my personal and creative life at this time (I am 80 years old). Available at the Waldman Jewish Public Library and in Kindle Edition and Audible Audiobook.
Becoming
by Michelle Obama
Don’t miss out on this wonderful, informative book by Michelle Obama. Her childhood was challenging, an intelligent African American woman without financial backing. She struggles and succeeds. Her relationship with Barack Obama is fascinating. Her accomplishments as First Lady innovative and successful. You can tell that I loved every word of it!
