Join us as we journey through a collection of texts that explore the evolving facets of Jewish American life, identity, and family. Together, these works offer a window into the dreams, dilemmas, and resilience of Jewish families across generations. From Wouk’s classic portrayal of a young woman’s pursuit of independence in mid-century New York, to Goodman’s depiction of close-knit Catskills communities, Glaser’s compelling look at adoption and family secrets, Brodesser-Akner’s exploration of modern family tensions, and Friedland’s nostalgic view of a family resort’s last days—each story illuminates different moments in Jewish American life.

FEBRUARY: Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk (1955)

A starry-eyed young beauty, Marjorie Morgenstern is nineteen years old when she leaves home to accept the job of her dreams—working in a summer stock company for Noel Airman, its talented and intensely charismatic director. Released from the social constraints of her traditional Jewish family and thrown into the glorious, colorful world of theater, Marjorie finds herself entangled in a powerful affair with the man destined to become the greatest—and the most destructive—love of her life. 

Rich with humor and poignancy, Marjorie Morningstar is a classic love story that spans two continents and two decades in the life of its heroine. 

MARCH: Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman (1998)

In 1976 the tiny upstate New York town of Kaaterskill is bustling with summer people in dark coats, fedoras, and long modest dresses. Living side by side with Yankee year rounders, they are the disciples of Rav Elijah Kirshner.  Elizabeth Shulman is a restless wife and mother of five daughters; her imagination transcends her cloistered community. Across the street Andras Melish is drawn to Kaaterskill by his adoring older sisters. Comforted, yet crippled by his sisters' love, he cannot overcome the ambivalence he feels toward his own children and his young wife. At the top of the hill, Rav Kirshner is nearing the end of his life. As he struggles to decide which of his sons should succeed him—the pious but stolid Isaiah or the brilliant but rebellious Jeremy—his followers wrestle with their future and their past. 

With this community, Allegra Goodman weaves magic.

APRIL: Long Island Compromise: A Novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (2024)

Long Island Compromise spans the entirety of one family’s history, winding through decades and generations, all the way to the outrageous present, and confronting the mainstays of American Jewish life: tradition, the pursuit of success, the terror of history, fear of the future, old wives’ tales, evil eyes, ambition, achievement, boredom, dybbuks, inheritance, pyramid schemes, right-wing capitalists, beta-blockers, psychics, and the mostly unspoken love and shared experience that unite a family forever.

MAY: American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser (2021)

The adoption business was founded on secrecy and lies. American Baby lays out how a lucrative and exploitative industry removed children from their birth mothers and placed them with hopeful families, fabricating stories about infants' origins and destinations, then closing the door firmly between the parties forever. Adoption agencies and other organizations that purported to help pregnant women struck unethical deals with doctors and researchers for pseudoscientific "assessments," and shamed millions of women into surrendering their children.

The identities of many who were adopted or who surrendered a child in the postwar decades are still locked in sealed files. Gabrielle Glaser dramatically illustrates a tale they share with millions of Americans—a story of loss, love, and the search for identity.

JUNE: Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland (2021)

In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families—best friends and business partners—have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be—and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden or is it too late?

Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas, and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort.

Facilitator: Stacey Bieber attended Boston University for both her undergraduate studies and law school.  She also has a Master of Law degree in Taxation from New York University. Following graduate school, she and her husband, Mark, moved to Los Angeles for her clerkship and never looked back.    

After having three children, Bieber decided to follow her passion and returned to school earning a Master of Arts in Literature from California State University, Northridge, where she currently teaches in the English Department.   

Facilitating book clubs allows Bieber to combine her love for reading, learning, and teaching without the grading. In addition to teaching, she loves spending time with her family, hiking, traveling, and learning from her students.

GROUP 1: Tuesdays, 10:00 am–12:00 pm (IN-PERSON)
February 18, March 18, April 22, May 20, June 17

GROUP 2: Tuesdays, 1:00–3:00 pm (IN-PERSON)
February 18, March 18, April 22, May 20, June 17

GROUP 3: Wednesdays, 1:00–3:00 pm (IN-PERSON)
February 19, March 19, April 23, May 21, June 18

GROUP 4: Fridays, 10:00 am–12:00 pm (ONLINE)
February 21, March 21, April 25, May 23, June 20