And the Bridge Is Love

by Faye Moskowitz

A collection of life stories so funny, moving that “you don’t have to be a Jewish feminist mama to love this book . . . but it wouldn’t hurt” ( Tablet Magazine ). Here are the collected autobiographical writings of memoirist, poet, and professor Faye Moskowitz. Known for both her sense of humor—even in the bleakest of circumstances—and her insight into the relationships that define who we are, where we come from, and where we hope to be going, Moskowitz shares her own life stories in “a book that will make you stand up and cheer” ( The Detroit News ). From her childhood in Detroit during the Great Depression to the time when her mother abandoning the family to pursue her own dreams; from helping a dying friend simply get through another day to a hilarious account of binge eating at a wedding; from finding love and leaving home to building her own family and legacy, these recounted experiences give us “her piercingly tender observations about unlikely friendships, transgressive love, disappointing plants, and sacred Jewish rituals of the kitchen” ( Lilith Magazine ).

Genres: Jewish, Nonfiction, Memoir

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Born in 1930, Moskowitz spent her early years in Detroit and Jackson, Michigan. She married just out of high school when she was 18 and had her first child at 19. In Michigan, she worked for the Democratic Party, becoming county vice-chairman, until her husband’s job took the family to Washington. There she enrolled at GW. She credits a senior-year creative writing class—her first—with inspiring her to write.

She went on to earn a Master’s degree and later a doctorate from GW. She taught middle school for 12 years before returning to GW to teach and direct the creative writing program. Ten years later she became department chair.

She teaches creative writing and Jewish American literature.

(from http://jwa.org/blog/meet-faye-moskowi...)

Reviews

[C.S. Ennen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My professor said we didn't have to read the whole thing. I read the whole thing. I expected a memoir, was told to expect essays, and found essays telling autobiographical narratives, aka memoirs. What a wild coinkydink since I'm taking a class about memoirs.

These essays are brilliant. They're well argued and quite beautiful to read too. The order in which the essays are printed is also very helpful, because you find a broader narrative unfolding of this woman's entire life as she presents a series of curated slices. She uses autobiography as a means of confessional, to justify her past mistakes and testify to her own truths. Memory is imperfect, right? There's no way she remembers every single piece of supposedly true dialogue that she wrote here. But it doesn't matter if the details are fudged for the sake of narrative, because the reader really cares that the author tells her emotional truth, which she does to no limit (besides the <150 pages of print). That's the beauty of memoirs, or so I've learned. Honesty is the second best policy, vulnerability is the main rule of the road. Nobody cares whether it really took five minutes, six minutes, or seven minutes for somebody to cook rice. These made-up details help us move to the author's world.

I love her, I love my memoir class, I love to read good books!!!!!

[Megan Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

great little book of essays!!

[Tayari Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am delighted to see this book back in print!

[Kimberly Greenwald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written essays.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good writing and thoughts that most of us have but don't express, such as "your mother, safely young" and "Don't most people leave a sick room thinking, deep down, thank God I got off this time?" These were mainly "life essays" on a variety of subjects. Quite a bit on Jewish food and culture. Kind voice.

[Susan O'brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this slim volume of essays while cleaning this week. Why has it taken me 30 years to get around to reading it? I am so glad that I took the time to read it this week. Very enjoyable.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bridge is a really nice set of essays. The first one absolutely grabs the reader. The rest, in comparison, don't quite reach as high, but that is not to say there aren't any other winners in the bunch. There are. Moskowitz allows her life to slowly leak out from her pen. We discover that she and her husband are first generation Jews and we get to discover with her what it means to be a minority, and what it means to bear racial prejudice. We also discover she holds a secret from her childhood, which she eventually reveals to us, but the way she does it is just masterful. We get to walk with her through the changes of late middle age, as when she remodels her house post-children.

[Yosef Gotlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a series of vignettes describing cardinal points in the author's life. It is an insightful, touching and exceedingly well-written work.

Wisdom pervades Faye Moskowitz's writing. She speaks proudly as a woman and as a Jew who embraces the world. Clearly, love is the bridge of her life, one which has been well lived.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. The many essays share the memories of a lifetime. Some are funny, some are sad, some happy, and some are difficult. All are well-written and interesting and thought provoking. I got this book free to review from goodreads.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book with quite entertaining essays. There were many of her essays that I could relate to
in my own life. There were even a few that I immediately thought I need to have this friend or that friend
read this essay. I will definitely recommended this book to others.