Synopses & Reviews
and#147;For a generation of women who grew up watching Sex and the City, Manhattan is the Promised Landand#151;or as Rebecca Dana puts it in her hilarious, self-deprecating new memoir, itand#8217;s and#145;my Jerusalemand#151;the shining city off in the distance, the only place to goand#8217;and#133;[An] insightful tale of two fish out of water.and#8221;and#151;O Magazine
Rebecca Dana worshipped at the altar of Truman Capote and Nora Ephron, dreaming of moving to New York. After college, life in the city turned out just as sheand#8217;d planned: glamorous parties; beautiful people; the perfect job, apartment and man. But when it all comes crashing down, she is catapulted into another world.
She moves into Brooklynand#8217;s Lubavitch community, and lives with Cosmo, a young Russian rabbi and jujitsu enthusiast. While Cosmo faces his disenchantment with Orthodoxy, Rebecca finds that her religionand#151;the books and films that made New York seem like salvationand#151;has also failed her. Shuttling between the worlds of religious extremism and secular excess, faith and fashion, Rebecca goes on a search for meaning.
A mix of Shalom Auslander and The Odd Couple, Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is a thought-provoking tale for the twenty-first century.
Includes a Readers Guide
and#160;
Review
“I’m kvelling!! Rebecca Dana's brilliant memoir touchingly and daringly juxtaposes the mysterious world of Orthodox Jewry with the even more mysterious world of fashion. I was amused and ver clempt, all at the same time.” —Simon Doonan, author of Gay Men Don’t Get Fat
Review
“Fascinating and engrossing, reading Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is like looking into the windows of compelling people you want to both meet and love. By the end of the book you will do just that. (Meeting and loving the people in the book, that is. Not peering into windows like some sort of peeping tom. Probably.)” —Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
Review
“Rebecca Dana meets the jujitsu rabbi in the same place fairy tale meets reality, which is the same place all of us meet our lives: nowhere near where we expected. Let me be clear: I’ve never met the author, and I had neither the time nor the inclination to blurb this book, but I started reading her odd, engrossing, tragicomic coming-of-adulthood tale and couldn't stop.” —Deborah Copaken Kogan, author of The Red Book and Shutterbabe
Review
“Rebecca Dana’s story is a lot like New York City—bustling and busy, packed with Jews and jobs, faith and friendship, accident and ambition. With
Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde, Dana joins the ranks of women who have come to New York, forged identities on their own alongside improbable allies, and lived to tell the tale with wit and grace.” —Rebecca Traister, author of
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Review
“Rebecca Dana’s funny, juicy memoir of her Brooklyn year with a most original housemate goes down like a terrific New York cocktail—with some sweetness, a snappy twist of sublime, and plenty of heart.” —Julie Metz, New York Times–bestselling author of Perfection
Review
“This is the beautifully told story of every smart young woman’s start in the big city, where dreams first come true and then they rain like hell all over you. Rebecca Dana is wise yet self-effacing, hysterical but dark. This book is the perfect photograph of the last agonies of being young.” —Choire Sicha, The Awl
Review
“A fantastic read. Will make you want to take your life by the horns.” —Morgan Spurlock, Academy Award–nominated documentary filmmaker and reformed couch surfer
Review
"Suffused with shimmering prose and a kick-ass spirit, Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is a brave and brilliant New York coming-of-age odyssey. With an eye for the damning detail and an ear for the heart-soaring quote, Rebecca Dana has delivered a devilishly funny true story brimming with pathos, oddball characters, and beautiful revelations. I haven't enjoyed a memoir this much in years." —Don Van Natta Jr, New York Times-bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner
Review
“For a generation of women who grew up watching
Sex and the City, Manhattan is the Promised Land—or as Rebecca Dana puts it in her hilarious, self-deprecating new memoir, it's 'my Jerusalem—the shining city off in the distance, the only place to go'. . . . [An] insightful tale of two fish out of water.” —
O Magazine “Charming … a true original. A-” —
Entertainment Weekly “Startling and delightful.” —
Vanity Fair "[A] charming, frequently hilarious memoir." —
The New York Observer “Thoughtful, archly funny.” —
Publishers Weekly “Funny, wily, audacious, and captivating.” —
Booklist “Fascinating and engrossing, reading
Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is like looking into the windows of compelling people you want to both meet and love. By the end of the book you will do just that.” —Jenny Lawson, #1
New York Times-bestselling author of
Lets Pretend This Never Happened “Rebecca Dana meets the jujitsu rabbi in the same place fairy tale meets reality, which is the same place all of us meet our lives: nowhere near where we expected. Let me be clear: Ive never met the author, and I had neither the time nor the inclination to blurb this book, but I started reading her odd, engrossing, tragicomic coming-of-adulthood tale and couldn't stop.” —Deborah Copaken Kogan, author of
The Red Book and
Shutterbabe “Im kvelling!! Rebecca Dana's brilliant memoir touchingly and daringly juxtaposes the mysterious world of Orthodox Jewry with the even more mysterious world of fashion. I was amused and ver clempt, all at the same time.” —Simon Doonan, author of
Gay Men Dont Get Fat “Rebecca Danas story is a lot like New York City—bustling and busy, packed with Jews and jobs, faith and friendship, accident and ambition. With
Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde, Dana joins the ranks of women who have come to New York, forged identities on their own alongside improbable allies, and lived to tell the tale with wit and grace.” —Rebecca Traister, author of
Big Girls Dont Cry “Rebecca Danas funny, juicy memoir of her Brooklyn year with a most original housemate goes down like a terrific New York cocktail—with some sweetness, a snappy twist of sublime, and plenty of heart.” —Julie Metz,
New York Times-bestselling author of
Perfection “This is the beautifully told story of every smart young womans start in the big city, where dreams first come true and then they rain like hell all over you. Rebecca Dana is wise yet self-effacing, hysterical but dark. This book is the perfect photograph of the last agonies of being young.” —Choire Sicha, The Awl “A fantastic read. Will make you want to take your life by the horns.” —Morgan Spurlock “Suffused with shimmering prose and a kick-ass spirit,
Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is a brave and brilliant New York coming-of-age odyssey. With an eye for the damning detail and an ear for the heart-soaring quote, Rebecca Dana has delivered a devilishly funny true story brimming with pathos, oddball characters, and beautiful revelations. I haven't enjoyed a memoir this much in years.” —Don Van Natta Jr., N
ew York Times-bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner
Review
“[A] charming, frequently hilarious memoir.”—
The New York Observer “[Danas] take on being young and smart and emotionally adrift in the city is odd and charming enough to be that elusive thing: a true original.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Dana is able to write hilariously about her temporary ignominy and the vicissitudes of her job as a fashion journalist because through it all she maintains an acute sensitivity for the absurd...And there are larger issues, such as which kinds of lives are worth pursuing, packed in along with the ground-level concerns of getting along with a crazy roommate.”—The Daily Beast
“Rebecca Danas funny, juicy memoir of her Brooklyn year with a most original housemate goes down like a terrific New York cocktail—with some sweetness, a snappy twist of sublime and plenty of heart.”—Julie Metz, New York Times bestselling author of Perfection
“A fantastic read. Will make you want to take your life by the horns.”—Morgan Spurlock, filmmaker
“A laugh-out-loud tour of heartbreak, fashion and the search for community in unexpected places.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“[A] canny, buzz-inducing memoir…Funny, wily, audacious and captivating. Dana asserts her passion for glitz and high heels; vividly recounts her crazy adventures, profane and sacred; and saucily ponders lifes big questions.”—Booklist
Review
and#8220;[A] charming, frequently hilarious memoir.and#8221;and#8212;
The New York Observer and#8220;[Danaand#8217;s] take on being young and smart and emotionally adrift in the city is odd and charming enough to be that elusive thing: a true original.and#8221;and#8212;Entertainment Weekly
and#8220;Dana is able to write hilariously about her temporary ignominy and the vicissitudes of her job as a fashion journalist because through it all she maintains an acute sensitivity for the absurd...And there are larger issues, such as which kinds of lives are worth pursuing, packed in along with the ground-level concerns of getting along with a crazy roommate.and#8221;and#8212;The Daily Beast
and#8220;Rebecca Danaand#8217;s funny, juicy memoir of her Brooklyn year with a most original housemate goes down like a terrific New York cocktailand#8212;with some sweetness, a snappy twist of sublime and plenty of heart.and#8221;and#8212;Julie Metz, New York Times bestselling author of Perfection
and#8220;A fantastic read. Will make you want to take your life by the horns.and#8221;and#8212;Morgan Spurlock, filmmaker
and#8220;A laugh-out-loud tour of heartbreak, fashion and the search for community in unexpected places.and#8221;and#8212;Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
and#8220;[A] canny, buzz-inducing memoirand#8230;Funny, wily, audacious and captivating. Dana asserts her passion for glitz and high heels; vividly recounts her crazy adventures, profane and sacred; and saucily ponders lifeand#8217;s big questions.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist
Synopsis
The ultimate fish-out-of-water tale . . . A child who never quite fit in, Rebecca Dana worshipped at the altar of Truman Capote and Nora Ephron, dreaming of one day ditching Pittsburgh and moving to New York, her Jerusalem. After graduating from college, she made her way to the city to begin her destiny. For a time, life turned out exactly as she’d planned: glamorous parties; beautiful people; the perfect job, apartment, and man. But when it all came crashing down, she found herself catapulted into another world. She moves into Brooklyn’s enormous Lubavitch community, and lives with Cosmo, a thirty-year-old Russian rabbi who practices jujitsu on the side.While Cosmo, disenchanted with Orthodoxy, flirts with leaving the community, Rebecca faces the fact that her religion—the books, magazines, TV shows, and movies that made New York seem like salvation—has also failed her. As she shuttles between the world of religious extremism and the world of secular excess, Rebecca goes on a search for meaning. Trenchantly observant, entertaining as hell, a mix of Shalom Auslander and The Odd Couple, Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is a thought-provoking coming-of-age story for the twenty-first century.
Synopsis
For a generation of women who grew up watching Sex and the City, Manhattan is the Promised Landor as Rebecca Dana puts it in her hilarious, self-deprecating new memoir, its my Jerusalemthe shining city off in the distance, the only place to go
[An] insightful tale of two fish out of water.”O Magazine
Rebecca Dana worshipped at the altar of Truman Capote and Nora Ephron, dreaming of moving to New York. After college, life in the city turned out just as shed planned: glamorous parties; beautiful people; the perfect job, apartment and man. But when it all comes crashing down, she is catapulted into another world.
She moves into Brooklyns Lubavitch community, and lives with Cosmo, a young Russian rabbi and jujitsu enthusiast. While Cosmo faces his disenchantment with Orthodoxy, Rebecca finds that her religionthe books and films that made New York seem like salvationhas also failed her. Shuttling between the worlds of religious extremism and secular excess, faith and fashion, Rebecca goes on a search for meaning.
A mix of Shalom Auslander and The Odd Couple, Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde is a thought-provoking tale for the twenty-first century.
Includes a Readers Guide
About the Author
Rebecca Dana is a writer and journalist in New York. She is a former senior correspondent for
Newsweek and
The Daily Beast, where she wrote the weekly "Social Diaries" magazine column and reported on fashion, culture and entertainment. She has been a featured commentator on such shows as the
Today show,
The Joy Behar Show,
Inside Edition,
Access Hollywood, and NPR's "On the Media" and "Fair Game with Faith Salie." She has made numerous appearances on MSNBC and CNN.
Before joining The Daily Beast, Dana was a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Observer. She has also been published in: Rolling Stone Magazine, Vanity Fair Italia, Slate, Men's Vogue, The Washington Post, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, Men's Journal, and The New York Times. She attended Yale, where she was the editor in chief of the Yale Daily News. She lives in Manhattan with her husband.