Please feel free to check out of the Soul Sisters' books which are in the CBS Conrey Library. Call ahead to be sure Lauren is in the office (707) 253-7305. Just sign the card inside the pocket.

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Sept 20, 2021: Host Kathleen Conrey | Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. 

Deeply researched nonfiction, about real historical people. The theme is how America has been shaped by a hidden caste system, that influences people’s lives and the nation’s fate in our own time. Not a specifically Jewish book but one that is timely. 

Oct 18, 2021: Host Sue Barush | The Jew Store: A Family Memoir by Stella Suberman (Algonquin Books)

Set in 1920s Tennessee, the true story of the Bronson family’s move from New York to the small town of Concordia. It’s the recounting of their life operating Bronson’s Low Cost Store as well as their experiences of adjusting to life in a rural southern town.An intimate family story that sheds new light on a piece of American history. Here is One Man's Family with a twist--a Jew, born into poverty in pre-revolutionary Russia and orphaned from birth, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome. 

Nov 22, 2021: Host  Rachel Friedman | The Book of V. by Anna Solomon.

This is a novel about 3 women from 3 different centuries one of whom is Esther from ancient Persia (a midrash on the biblical Esther). The theme is about strong passionate women in a world governed by men.  

Dec 20, 2021:  Host Sabina Stoltz | Red Sea Spies by Raffi Berg. 

The true story of Mossad’s fake diving resort and the airlift of thousands of Ethiopian Jews. Netflix has the the film about the book "The Red Sea Diving Resort". It was made in 2019. A very interesting and clearly showed the difficulty  to smuggle in thousands of Ethiopian refugees into Israel. 

Jan 17, 2022: Host Lauran Posner | Antisemitism Here and Now by Deborah Lipstadt

Deborah Lipstadt, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University. It is painfully clear that antisemitism is alive — and spreading — around the world. This awareness leads to a slew of difficult questions: Is today’s antisemitism the same or different from what we’ve seen before? Is this a problem only on the far right or is the left to blame as well? And what, if anything, can we do about it? Lipstadt takes the role of approachable professor as she defines antisemitism and different types of antisemites, contextualizes their actions, and provides frameworks for real-life responses. I feel it is especially relevant in this time of the alarming rise in antisemitism in America and around the world.  

Feb 21, 2022:  Host Peggy Duly | Irena’s Children by Tilar Mazzeo 

The story of Irena Sendler—the “female Oskar Schindler”—who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. She was granted access to the Warsaw ghetto as a public health specialist. With the help of a network of local tradesmen, ghetto residents and resistance fighters she snuck the children past the Nazis. She made dangerous trips through the city’s sewers, hid children in coffins, snuck them under overcoats at checkpoints, and slipped them through secret passages in abandoned buildings.  

Mar 21, 2022 : Host JoAnne Miller | My Journey by Donna Karan - memoir 

My Journey traces Karan’s early days as an intern at Anne Klein, the creation of her Seven Easy Pieces (which forever changed the way working women dressed), and the meteoric rise of her company. Along with juicy industry stories, Karan candidly discusses her difficult mother and traumatic childhood, her turbulent romantic life, all the loved ones she has lost over the years, and the personal awakening that occurred just as she reached the height of professional and financial success. 

Apr 18, 2022:  UPDATED Host LAURAN POSNER | Hunting Eichmann by Neal Bascomb

In the last days of the Third Reich, Adolf Eichmann shed his SS uniform and vanished. His pursuers are a bulldog West German prosecutor, a blind Argentinean Jew, and a budding, ragtag spy agency called the Mossad.  

May 16, 2022:  Host  Martha Pastcan | Apeirogon by Colum McCann

McCann tells the story of Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli, and how they came together after the terrible loss of both of their daughters, one to suicide bombers and the other to Israeli police. Parents from both sides who have lost loved ones gather together in a Parents Circle to tell their stories, to heal, and to never forget their unimaginable losses.  

Jun 20, 2022: Host  Ellyn Elson | Hello Darkness, My Old Friend by Sanford D. Greenberg

The remarkable and inspiring story of a Columbia undergrad from a poor Jewish family who, after losing his eyesight to disease during his junior year, finds the power to break through the darkness and fulfill his vision for a life of great professional success and distinguished public service. (He was the roommate of Art Garfunkel.) It is an easy and interesting read.  

July 18, 2022:  General Meeting and Discussions for 2022, 23 book suggestions.