Turbulent Souls: : A Catholic Son's Return To His Jewish Family

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Summary: Oy vay, Maria!
Review: An amazing journey back to the author's religious roots! It certainly made me see the light in my interreligious world!

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Summary: Entertaining and moving yet still ambiguous
Review: If you are looking for answers about which religion you should be and why don't look to this book. It is a very entertaining beautiful well-written memoir with a touch of Angela's Ashes. My only regret is that there wasn't any specific detail as to why the conversions took place. (Only a mention of "what rang true to me"). Unfortunately, that was the reason I bought the book.

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Summary: First time I've ever cried while reading a book
Review: I told my wife that I will be very sad when I finish this book. Little did I know that I would actually be moved to tears. Incredible story by a remarkable young man. Simply put, this was the greatest book I've ever read.

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Summary: my brother is jewish but what am i?
Review: turbulent souls was an apt title for this book written by my brother as we both grew up in this soulful,turbulent family, although with differing viewpoints of what exactly turbulent meant. i was amazed at how stephen's thoughts were so deep and questioning, as he appeared to be a quiet, calm and even content youngster while we were growing up. stephen was always affable and agreeable as a boy, and i was flabbergasted to realize how he really felt about the Faith. i had no trouble believing what our parents, especially our mother, told us about Jesus, Heaven and all that went with it, however i truly with that i had known more about my jewish roots when i was young; i, like my brother, felt a great sense of loss of past heritage and with it, even self. when stephen hosted a wonderful reunion with about 80 relatives, some of whom i had never even heard of, i was happy beyond words. for the unconditional love of these people, my people, went beyond words--it was almost an unspoken vow of love, of knowing, of acceptance. i could feel my father's spirit smiling down on us, he was so happy, because the truth was out, and the wrongs of the past had been righted. on reading the book, i felt the deep hurt of my father's rejection by his father and family, and resented them for suddenly showing up at his funeral when i was a teen-ager, after ignoring us for so many years. i was angry with my mother for not telling me about family secrets, and for not letting stephen just be himself. why did she have to try to control everyone, even their thoughts? but i, like stephen, came to peace and terms with our mother, although i still wish that i had known my heritage with all it's richness and history and yes, dark secrets, too. i anguished, also, about my religion--what was i, anyway, was i really a catholic or was i a jew because my blood line was jewish. for months, i felt mixed-up, and i read, and re-read the book. it's too bad that our family had so many hurts and secrets, but things were very different back in my mother's and father's and their parents' days, things were not out in the open, and one reason may have been that hitler and the germans sure didn't like the Jews. Perhaps we may not have even come to be if my mother and father had not become Catholic and fled their roots to take up roots in a desolate, forsaken (it seemed like) town called Quaker Street. i still think of the City as my home, my roots are in Long Island where i was born, any my heart and soul back in Brooklyn with my Russian grandmother, eating her borsht and avoiding her questions and inquiries about our life. my mother was a domineering, strict, authoritative person, but she was also the most loving, kind and wonderful friend a mother could have. i miss her now, and i know that she is with God, and my father, and long- gone relatives jewish and Catholic, and i don't think that God cares whether they were Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, or Baptist--He only cares that they believed in him and loved him and tried to spread that love and devotion around. I am very proud of Stephen for telling his story, it is our story, and it is exceptionally well-written, funny and heart-breaking also.i would someday like to tell my story, too. the Eden steve knew and loved, was not Eden to me at all, rather a glimpse of Purgatory, especially during our father's illness and the ensuing lonliness and depression ---and especially after Dad died, it felt more like Hell.

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Summary: A great book that will last
Review: I'm sitting out here by the pool vacactioning in Vegas, it's not hot enough, there's no sun, I'm feeling a little upset that I'm not going to go home with a tan--and then the friends I'm staying with gives me a copy of the paperback of Turbulent Souls to shutup my whining. It did. Though I clock in somewhere between an escapist reader of Raymond Chandler and at best a pseudo-intellectual, I loved this book not only for its story, its story telling, and the way it made me think about myself and my own relation to Judaism in a way that may not reflect if I'd spent 10 years studying in a Yeshiva--yet hit me right in the kischkes, and the brain, and though I don't count myself as an intellectual, Turbulent Souls has enough heart and smarts to satisfy anybody on the spectrum. I missed the hardcover--I only wish I'd known it was out in paperback so I could have sent them as Channukah presents (I still will. I'm WAAAY behind on my Hannukah presents.) Cheers to you, Mr. Dubner, I can't wait for your next one!

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Summary: Must-read for anyone in search of spirituality
Review: I don't know what drew me to this book. I never saw the published articles that preceded it, but once I got it, I couldn't put it down. Fascinating story of spiritual longing and search for meaning. The author's search matches his parents' earlier ones, but he never sees the similarities. Once he finally decides to become a Jew, the author's badgering of his long-suffering mother was sort of annoying, but understandable given his youth and immaturity. I am a wholly committed Jew but I wanted to slap Stephen Dubner silly for badgering Florence/Veronica, who remains a wonderfully loving mother to him regardless. She remains steadfast to her child, despite the disappointment she must have felt. She and Sol/Paul are admirable people. They raised wonderful children; I don't care if they are Catholic or Jewish. They are thoughtful, caring human beings. Talk about family values and the power of the spirit. Even such enormous religious differences could not break the bonds. G-d does work in mysterious ways.

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Summary: turbulent souls
Review: This is a great book of one young mans return to his Jewish roots after being raised by his Catholic parents, who themselves had converted from the Jewish religion. This book was very hard to put down!

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Summary: THOUGHT PROVOKING
Review: Here's to your reviewer from Miami! He/she should do this for a living! I came to this book without an agenda. Being neither Catholic nor Jewish, it was the "situation" that interested me. Mr. Dubner is a thoughtful, humorous man and an excellent story teller. Given all of that, I was becoming quite hostile toward him for what I perceive as the browbeating of his mother. She is an outstanding example of steady and profound faith. Her son is a searcher for knowledge. He is so annoyed when she sends him coffee-table book of the "Life of Jesus Christ;" yet he bombards her with clippings, phone calls, articles that show the superiority of Judism over Catholicism. Then Mr. Dubner said "She had been backed to the wall by her petulant child." I forgave him, reflecting that he had some understanding of how he was behaving. Mrs. Dubner senior's behavior toward her youngest son's barrage of new found knowledge exemplified that almost archaic term "lady." The motives he ascribes to his parents for their conversion are trivial; his conversion he presents as profound. His parents provided him with a warm, loving, rowdy family life; he cannot perceive the distant, cold familal relationships his parents had as children. I *know* Mr. Dubner is a nice man, so be nice to your Mama!

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Summary: Excellent, heartwarming, and inspirational.
Review: Mr. Dubner, through an intensely personal experience, has managed to impart a wonderful gift to all willing readers. His book tells the story of three soulful, complicated people who, at particularly vulnerable times in their lives, could not, or would not, ignore their inner voices. From the moment the book begins, in Brooklyn, New York, pre- World War II, you are drawn to the two Jewish characters, Florence and Solly, who would eventually become Mr. Dubner's Catholic parents, Veronica and Paul. Mr. Dubner's heartwarming description of his strict Catholic upbringing is enough to keep your attention but the true gem of this memoir is found once Mr. Dubner attempts to discover his once hidden Jewish roots. From the first page to the last, for the ultra-religious to the non-believer, this is a book not to be missed. This book will urge you to (re)discover your own roots.

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Summary: An intelligent and spirited defense of religion
Review: A terrific read - well written and with humour. This books sizes up some of the key differences between the major tenets of Catholicism and Judaism. I have myself travelled a different yet similar journey and have come to almost identical conclusions some 10 years ago. I recommend the book to anyone interested in religion and in Judaism in particular.