Book Description
Sondra seems like the stronger one. She’s older and became religious much earlier.
Yet don’t underestimate her beloved cousin, Lisa. When Lisa commits to something — whether Judaism, Israel, or a husband who mysteriously disappears — she doesn’t give up easily.
In Growing With My Cousin, readers are invited into the deep, emotional, and fascinating relationship and lives of Sondra, Lisa, and their families.
From Kansas to Phoenix to the Land of Israel, this gripping novel covers Jewish and human experiences common to us all.
From grandparents to grandchildren, this moving story connects the past, present, and future.
In Growing With My Cousin, readers will find themselves — and find themselves unable to close this marvelous read.
About The Author
Ester Katz Silvers writes: “My life has been full of miracles beginning with the fact that my father and all of his family escaped from Nazi Germany before the War. That, combined with the miracle that my mother, born in a small American town, did not lose her Jewish identity, gave me a traditional Jewish upbringing in Wichita, Kansas. Somehow, I didn’t assimilate or intermarry as so many of my contemporaries did. Rather, I moved to Arizona for university, met my future husband, and together we became Torah observant Jews. After twelve years in Phoenix, Arizona, and with five children, we made aliyah and settled in Shilo, once home to the Mishkan (Tabernacle). We were blessed with another two children and now all are married with children of their own, all miracles. Every day I’m grateful to the Almighty for the miracle of allowing me to live in Israel for over thirty years.”
Rebbitzen Rivkah Leff –
Growing with My Children: A Tale of Love, Life, and Land. I found it enjoyable and inspiring. It gives one an awareness fo important nuances of life and relationships. I recommend it as a positive reading experience.
Rivka Segal –
Ester Katz Silvers has written a beautiful novel that will touch every one of us in some way. Growing with My Cousin is a very interesting read, and I had a hard time putting it down. It left me with a lot of food for thought and discussion.
It is a story of loving cousins, friends, and communities who struggle to succeed and grow in the face of adversity and challenge, with joy and friendship. Ester weaves in conflicts and challenges that people face, and every reader will be able to identify with at least one of the fictional but so realistic characters.
The reader will be inspired with this moving story of friendship, unity and commitment to Torah and Am Yisrael.
I highly recommend this book.
Dvora Waysman –
Family is not a sanctuary. It needs loving input from all its members to make it work. In Growing with My Cousin, Ester Katz Silvers shows us the strength and weaknesses within a family—one that is facing challenges like intermarriage and aliyah, and the redemptive love between cousins Sondra and Lisa. How will they handle the ultimate trauma of Kobi’s disappearance? Follow their story in this absorbing novel of family life.
A Jewish Grandmother –
Growing with my Cousin is fiction based on facts. There are recognizable similarities between Sondra, the main character, and Silvers. And in some ways the fictional yishuv, Jewish community in Samaria, is like Shiloh. Most of the book actually takes place in Phoenix Arizona, where Silvers and her husband had lived before making aliyah, moving to Israel. I’m also familiar with the Jewish community there, since my parents lived there in their final years. The Orthodox community graciously put me up for Shabbatot quite a few times. One of the families I had become close with moved to a different city with more Jewish opportunities for their children just like some of the characters in Growing with my Cousin.
You can say that Growing with my Cousin gives both a macro and micro account. On one hand, we get to know the individual characters very well. They are totally believable, and it is easy to care about them. On the other hand, we learn about life in a small, but dedicated, Jewish community, one that tries to offer all an Orthodox Jew would need. It’s a difficult situation, because most people are “in transit” and don’t stay in Phoenix all that long.
Sondra and her Cousin Lisa dream of moving to Israel, but it’s not all simple.
Sondra seems like the stronger one. She’s older and became religious much earlier.
Yet don’t underestimate her beloved cousin, Lisa. When Lisa commits to something – whether Judaism, Israel, or a husband who mysteriously disappeared – she doesn’t give up easily.
In Growing With My Cousin, readers are invited into the deep, emotional and fascinating relationship and lives of Sondra, Lisa, and their families.
From Kansas to Phoenix to the Land of Israel, this gripping novel covers Jewish and human experiences common to us all.
From grandparents to grandchildren, this moving story connects the past, present and future.
I highly recommend Growing with my Cousin for readers of all ages. Silvers includes a glossary at the end of the book, so that even those not familiar with Jewish life will have no problems understanding Hebrew terminology. I particularly liked how Silvers shows the wonderful community spirit, willingness to help others that exists in Jewish communities in Israel and abroad. Sometimes we contribute, and sometimes we are on the receiving end.
Kathy –
I loved this book! So relate-able and endearing. The characters seemed to become part of my family as I read it and I could truly feel pain, angst and joy right along with them. Also, an empowering and insightful view of life as a new immigrant in a new country. Thank you, Ester Katz Silvers!!