Judy Gruen

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Judy Gruen

Goodreads Author


Born
in Los Angeles, The United States
Website

Genre

Member Since
September 2007


Growing up, I was drawn to written words–both reading them voraciously and writing them continuously.

I began my writing career in the health care field, and sold my first freelance humor pieces by age 22 to the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, the scrappy underdog newspaper to the Los Angeles Times.

Since then, I’ve written 5 books, including my memoirs Bylines and Blessings and The Skeptic and the Rabbi, both works of my heart. I’m an award-winning columnist for the Jewish Journal, where my work earned First Place in Commentary from the American Jewish Press Association’s Simon Rockower Awards, and Second Place for Book Reviews from the L.A. Press Club’s Southern California Journalism Awards, both in 2024.

My work has also been featured in the W
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Judy Gruen With trembling hands, the young woman, reeling from a fresh diagnosis of cancer, carefully tapped in the number of her health insurance company. After…moreWith trembling hands, the young woman, reeling from a fresh diagnosis of cancer, carefully tapped in the number of her health insurance company. After following the prompts to get to the right department, she heard a recorded message saying, "Your call is very important to us, but the approximate wait time is 2 hours." (less)
Judy Gruen Hi Grey, I have only read one biography about Jackie O, and that was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life, by Donald Spoto. I enjoyed it, borrow…moreHi Grey, I have only read one biography about Jackie O, and that was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life, by Donald Spoto. I enjoyed it, borrowed it for free on my Kindle, and found it gave me a good overview about her life, including her sad and lonely childhood, the ways that she tried to deal with John Kennedy's outrageous infidelities, and her anguish at having lost two babies.

There are so many books about her, so I can't say this one was "the best" but I enjoyed it and felt the writing was solid and the treatment of her fairly objective.(less)
Average rating: 3.78 · 309 ratings · 81 reviews · 10 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Skeptic and the Rabbi: ...

3.85 avg rating — 196 ratings4 editions
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Till We Eat Again: A Second...

3.67 avg rating — 43 ratings — published 2002 — 5 editions
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The Women's Daily Irony Sup...

2.92 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions
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MBA Admission for Smarties:...

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4.22 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions
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Bylines and Blessings: Over...

4.92 avg rating — 12 ratings3 editions
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Carpool Tunnel Syndrome: Mo...

3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2000 — 4 editions
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Bylines and Blessings: Over...

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Till We Eat Again

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Woman's Day October 7, 2003

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More books by Judy Gruen…

Seizing the Day

( Photo credit: Reuven Ansh Photography)

Have you ever done something that was both so spontaneous and also so “big” that you almost couldn’t believe you did it? Well, about six weeks ago I realized that the annual Jerusalem Women’s Writers Seminar was coming up fast. I had never been to it, and I wanted to go. Israel is close to my heart but not to my house. It’s 11,000 miles away and a 14-hou

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Published on May 23, 2019 12:53

Judy’s Recent Updates

Judy is now friends with Susan Zurenda
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Bylines and Blessings by Judy Gruen
"As the jacket copy posits: “What happens when career ambition begins to clash with a commitment to religious and personal values? In Bylines and Blessings, award-winning author Judy Gruen shares how she resolved these two seemingly conflicting drives" Read more of this review »
Bylines and Blessings by Judy Gruen
"Book Title : Bylines and Blessings: Overcoming
Obstacles, Striving for Excellence, and
Redefining Success

Author: Judy Gruen

Genre: Memoir

Book Reviewed by Sylvia J.

This is the author's second memoir. What is this memoir about you ask? It is about t" Read more of this review »
Bylines and Blessings by Judy Gruen
"How unusual to find a book that not only tells an engrossing life story but that also contains advice and counsel by the author on how to attain personal success and live a more rewarding life. Bylines and Blessings—Overcoming Obstacles, Striving for" Read more of this review »
Judy shared a quote
Bylines and Blessings by Judy Gruen
“The moment was raw, and our nation was traumatized, but of course humor and comedy would return—and soon—because it had to. Humor isn’t a luxury; it’s a survival tool. It releases anxieties from shared fears and concerns. It lets us laugh at the absurd, and even at evil. We need this.”
Judy Gruen
Judy shared a quote
Bylines and Blessings by Judy Gruen
“That afternoon when I forgot about my kids, I was jolted into realizing how much of my sense of self and even my sense of worth was bonded to my writing. That’s why I could so easily become engrossed in my work, even forgetting I had children while I joyously ruminated over word choices: Should it be dismayed or distraught? How about perturbed? Would discomposed sound too Victorian? Time really flies when luxuriating over the 1,300-plus pages of a Roget’s Thesaurus.”
Judy Gruen
More of Judy's books…
Quotes by Judy Gruen  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“You know you're a mom when you open the door to the dishwasher mid-cycle and think, 'This is the closest I'm going to get to a spa treatment till next Mother's Day.'"

"Joining the words 'Lose Weight, Effortlessly!' in the same sentence may be a form of hate speech."

"Try to make time for the things that are important, not just the things that are urgent."

"I want my work to matter, my words to count for the good, and to spread some good cheer along the way.”
Judy Gruen

“That afternoon when I forgot about my kids, I was jolted into realizing how much of my sense of self and even my sense of worth was bonded to my writing. That’s why I could so easily become engrossed in my work, even forgetting I had children while I joyously ruminated over word choices: Should it be dismayed or distraught? How about perturbed? Would discomposed sound too Victorian? Time really flies when luxuriating over the 1,300-plus pages of a Roget’s Thesaurus.”
Judy Gruen, Bylines and Blessings: Overcoming Obstacles, Striving for Excellence, and Redefining Success

“Jewish teachings have inspired my professional ambitions and personal values. They have helped me build an empowering spiritual life and taught me to make my words count for the good. I will always continue to stand up proudly as a Jew even during dark times. Because a brighter tomorrow is sure to come.”
Judy Gruen, Bylines and Blessings: Overcoming Obstacles, Striving for Excellence, and Redefining Success

“You know you're a mom when you open the door to the dishwasher mid-cycle and think, 'This is the closest I'm going to get to a spa treatment till next Mother's Day.'"

"Joining the words 'Lose Weight, Effortlessly!' in the same sentence may be a form of hate speech."

"Try to make time for the things that are important, not just the things that are urgent."

"I want my work to matter, my words to count for the good, and to spread some good cheer along the way.”
Judy Gruen

“Don't be so humble - you are not that great.”
Golda Meir

“The best you'll ever do is to understand yourself, know what it is that you want, and not let the cattle stand in your way.”
Janet Fitch, White Oleander

“Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her.

I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain…

I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!’

‘Well,’ I said, slightly nonplussed, ‘the last time you saw me I’d just had a baby.’

What I felt like saying was, ‘I’ve produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren’t either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?’ But no – my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate!

I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before ‘thin’. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.”
J.K. Rowling

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

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Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
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AROHO women write. AROHO women create. AROHO women retreat and gather and find community. AROHO Reads is a platform for AROHO women to share with one ...more
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Elisheva Rina Mazel tov re: your new granddaughter!


message 1: by rivka

rivka The old photo was lovely, but I really like the new one!


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