Jujitsu Rabbi & the Godless Blonde

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;

“[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

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

“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, its ‘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

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 religion—the books and films that made New York seem like salvation—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

 

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.