Open Doors

by Gloria Goldreich

Acclaimed artist Elaine Gordon can't believe her loving husband is gone. After a lifetime spent utterly devoted to her soul mate and their marriage, Elaine is now tetherless, faced with widowhood and all the decisions that come with it, not least of which is what to do with her rambling, now-empty family home. Anxious to console their mother in her time of grief, Elaine's four grown children urge her to put everything on hold and spend some healing time with them. But visiting each unique and complicated child opens Elaine's eyes to the fact that the children she raised have become adults she hardly knows: Sarah, who abandoned Western life for an orthodox enclave in Jerusalem; Lisa, Sarah's accomplished twin and polar opposite, who will do anything for a child of her own; Peter, trapped in a hollow marriage in California; and Denis, the youngest, who just wants Elaine to accept his gay lifestyle.

As Elaine tries to bridge the physical and emotional miles, her eyes are opened to the startling truths of her own family, and what she must do to come to terms with her kids' lives—and a future that's completely, wonderfully…hers.

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Gloria Goldreich graduated from Brandeis University and did graduate work in Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was a coordinator in the Department of Jewish Education at National Hadassah and served as Public Relations Director of the Baruch College of the City University of New York.
While still an undergraduate at Brandeis, she was a winner of the Seventeen Magazine short story contest where her first nationally published work appeared. Subsequently, her short fiction and critical essays have appeared in Commentary, McCalls, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, Mademoiselle, Ms., Chatelaine, Hadassah Magazine and numerous other magazines and journals. Her work has been widely anthologized and translated.
She is the author of a series of children's books on women in the professions entitled What Can She Be? She has also written novels for young adults, Ten Traditional Jewish Stories, and she edited a prize-winning anthology A Treasury of Jewish Literature.
Her novel, Leah's Journey won the National Jewish Book Award for fiction in 1979, and her second novel Four Days won the Federation Arts and Letters Award. Her other novels include Promised Land, This Burning Harvest, Leah's Children, West to Eden, Mothers, Years of Dreams and That Year of Our War. Her books have been selections of the Book of the Month Club, the Literary Guild and the Troll Book Club.
She has lectured throughout the United States and in Canada.
Gloria Goldreich is married to an attorney and is the mother of two daughters and a son, and the grandmother of six grandchildren.

Reviews

[Rita Mahan]

This book had also been on my shelf awhile and finally I picked it up. It was good but not great. I could not relate to a couple who were so fixated on their love of each other that their children felt excluded. Also Elaine Gordon was a woman who feels she can fix anything and maybe this proves true as she visits each of her adult children after her beloved husband dies. I just found this trait annoying and rather unbelievable and marred my enjoyment of the book.

[Harry Shaer]

I e.joyed it a lot. Thecharactersweredo true to life. We all know people like that. The story flowed very well. Being a mother and grandmother, it hit many strings

I enjoyed the book a lot.. The flow of the story was very natural and the characters were true to life. We all know families like that. Being a mother and grandmother it stirred many emotions .

[Robin Scharff]

I hate writing this review, because I LOVED Gloria Goldreich's work for so long. However, after That Year of Our War, I noticed she did not release anything new for several years. I have never found anything online or anywhere else that said she was ill or something else was wrong, so I apologize if that is the case . . .but she has released three novels in the last few years. Walking Home and Dinner with Anna Karenina were just ok (too many storylines in Dinner), but this one just annoyed me. The lead character, Elaine, loses her husband and goes to spend time with each of her four grown children. She and her husband sort of blocked out the kids, emotionally, but now Elaine magically solves their problems. The ending was what really annoyed me . . .I won't spoil it for someone who wants to read it, but suffice it to say each of the kids wants Elaine to live with them and her final decision comes out of the blue . . .something never even mentioned until the last couple of pages of the book. I still have copies of Goldreich's older books; Leah's Journey remains one of my all-time favorite novels. But I am really disappointed by the last three, especially this one. I don't know what Goldreich has planned next, but I hope it's better. I really want to enjoy reading her again.

[Efrem Sigel]

When Elaine Gordon's husband Neil, a psychiatrist, suddenly drops dead of an aneurysm, Elaine is devastated by the loss. She sets out to discover a new relationship with her four adult children, while at the same time finding solace in her art. She is a skilled and creative ceramicist whose works are in demand around the country. From her home in Westchester, NY she travels to the homes of each son and daughter for extended visits: with Sarah, mother of four and living in an Orthodox community in Jerusalem; with Peter, a driven movie producer in LA whose marriage is in jeopardy; with Lisa, Sarah's twin, a successful physician desperate to adopt a child; and with Denis, a gay lawyer living with his partner in Santa Fe. Observing their lives at close range, sharing their pains and joys, intervening when necessary to help them deal with personal crises, she rediscovers a bond with her children and grandchildren. In the process, new experiences and new sights give her renewed inspiration for her art. In "Open Doors," author Gloria Goldreich gives us a sensitive, finely wrought portrait of a strong woman who surmounts the tragedy of death to rededicate herself to life. (Published by MIRA books, paperback, $13.95, see www.MIRABooks.com)

[Ellen]

I don't remember why I picked up this book. It's been on my shelf a couple of years.
Having read almost everything on my shelf, I looked at it again and feared it was going to be depressing; but it was something to read (I don't much care for TV).
I'm neither a widow nor Jewish but I am the daughter of a widow, a wife, a mom and a grandmother. I could identify with the lead character on some levels and was surprised with the quality of the story.
As the widow begins to relate to the lives of her 4 adult children and their life choices from occupations and faith to mates and locales of their residence.
Remembering her childhood and stories of her husband's childhood she moves to a greater understanding of the way they raised their children. Mistakes made, misunderstandings, what was and was not communicated all work together to help her see where her children and their families are today and where she wants to be "for the rest of her life."
If you are part of any family, take a look...you might find a better understanding of not only your parent figures but also of yourself.

[Jennifer S. Brown]

On my quest to read all the Jewish-themed novels I can to help me in my own novel writing, I stumbled upon this book. Next time, I'll watch where I'm going. Elaine and her husband had a relationship that shut out their four children. When the husband dies, Elaine finds herself adrift, literally. She visits her ultra-Orthodox daughter in Jerusalem; goes with her stubbornly single daughter to Russia to adopt a daughter; her son who is in a troubled marriage in California; and her gay son and his partner, who she has tried to accept, but never fully succeeding, in Arizona. The big question of the novel is: With whom will she choose to live?

The characters are pretty flat--each is a cliche of its type. Elaine, who is resented by each child for her closing herself off with her husband, is able to save the day in some way for each kid. The ending kind of came from nowhere and wasn't very convincing. Sigh. Still looking for those great Jewish novels....

[Lauren Kramer]

This book is one step above a Harlequin romance. It is geared toward a woman of a certain age. Her marriage which ends abruptly when her husband dies was idyllic. My husband and I have had a great marriage for 39 years now, but I recognize trite exageration when I read it. There is no marriage this perfect. She uses $50 word when a $5 word will do. This is a sign of an insecure and mediocre author. There is more wisdom in each of Alexander McCall Smith's no.1. Ladies Detective Agency slim and simple volumes than in this 487 page book. One good characteristic of this book is that the print is large and the reading is fairly quick. This is probably a nod to her anticipated reader. All you widows out there might find some comfort with this novel, but I doubt it.

[Jan]

Storyline was universal: parents trying to understand their grown kids' lives. There was interesting interplay between the mother and each of her adult children.
The writing was an easy -nature style; the main negative comment is that descriptions and dialogue were too " flowery." eg: "the dying light of the long bewildering day" ...or " the hard leaf-shadowed earth" or " trees canopied by graceful silver leaves" ...A simpler wording would be my preference.
That said, it's an enjoyable read...and many of us can picture ourselves in the various situations.

[Michele]

A successful couple have four children, yet manage to safeguard a very special relationship, that seemed to shut out everyone else at times. This came to light after the children had left home and when the husband dies. The mother is devastated, and finds it difficultvto resume her pottery making. As she visits each of her four children, she realizes how little she really inderstood them. A fascinating read about changing one's life when loss takes over.

[Faith]

A nice story, about a woman who loses her love of her life (her husband) and seeks to find the relationships with her children that she never really had....Did I like it? Um, well, my dad passed away a a few years ago, so I cried a little....recently divorced, not sure I ever had that "love of my life", so I cried again....and it was ok. That being said, my mom read it and really enjoyed it.

[Carolyn Russett]

I liked this book. especially liked to see how Elaine renewed relationships with all four of her children. I wanted a bit more at the end== to see how she would continue the new relationships she had made with each child. easy read..good beach era

[Donna]

An interesting story about being widowed and how your children view you as a parent and a person. Worth reading

[Karen]

By the time you get 1/3 done, the rest is predictable.