Miriam's Kitchen: A Memoir

Like many Jewish Americans, Elizabeth Ehrlich was ambivalent about her background. She identified with Jewish cultural attitudes, but not with the institutions; she had fond memories of her Jewish grandmothers, but she found their religious practices irrelevant to her life. It wasn't until she entered the kitchen--and world--of her mother-in-law, Miriam, a Holocaust survivor, that Ehrlich began to understand the importance of preserving the traditions of the past. As Ehrlich looks on, Miriam methodically and lovingly prepares countless kosher meals while relating the often painful stories of her life in Poland and her immigration to America. These stories trigger a kind of religious awakening in Ehrlich, who--as she moves tentatively toward reclaiming the heritage she rejected as a young woman--gains a new appreciation of life's possibilities, choices, and limitations.

Author: Elizabeth Ehrlich
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 09/01/1998
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.74lbs
Size: 8.48h x 4.86w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780140267594

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 10/11/1998 pg. 32
Christianity Today 05/01/2009 pg. 63

About the Author
Elizabeth Ehrlich lives in Westchester County, New York