Return from Exile: One Woman's Journey Back to Judaism - Hardcover

Carol Matzkin Orsborn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826411029 ISBN 13: 9780826411020

Publisher: Continuum, 1998

Synopsis

At midlife, a spiritually hungry author of self-help books leaves her professional life to enroll in divinity school. Return from Exile is the engaging, often profound story of Carol Matzkin Orsborn's first year at Vanderbilt Divinity School, the year that transformed her life.

In this spiritual 'pressure cooker', we share the author's friendships with similarly searching students, her encounters with challenging and supportive professors, and her first serious engagement with Jewish and Christian literatures.

In a largely Chrsitian environment, Orsborn confronts her unconsciously held prejudices and loyalties and discovers the hidden riches within her own tradition. Eventually she finds her way back to the heart and soul of Judaism, but it is a very different Judaism from the one she left behind.

About this title

Review

"In this lively, engaging, and deeply moving chronicle, Carol Orsborn takes us on a sacred quest. Like her ancestors of old, she courageously wrestles with her past, her persona, her perceptions, and, most of all, her god, until she emerges in a new light of wholeness and holiness. Highly recommended." Rabbi Wayne Dostek, author of Dancing with God "Carol Orsborn's engaging account of her life and time at Vanderbilt Divinity School is a story that will inspire those who are struggling to find their way to new levels of spirituality and faith, and that includes most of us. She has the unique ability to share her own journey and to invite us along. It is exciting to join her." -Joseph C. Hough, Jr, Dean, Vanderbilt Divinity School

From the Author

Finalist in National Jewish Book Awards
"Return From Exile: One Woman's Journey Back to Judaism" has been named a finalist in the 1998 National Jewish Book Awards in the category of Christian-Jewish Relations. I am delighted with the recognition for this book, but the category is slightly misleading. I did find my way back to Judaism while attending Vanderbilt University Divinity School, but the entirety of my journey was within the heart of Judaism -- past, present and future. Here are what some rabbis you may know have said about the book. "I hope many readers will follow Carol Orsborn on her spiritual journey and will learn something about their own souls in the process." (Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People.") "In this lively, engaging and deeply moving chronicle, Carol Orsborn takes us on a sacred quest. Like her ancestors of old, she courageously wrestles with her past, her persona, her perceptions, and most of all, her God, until she emerges in a new light of wholeness and holiness. Highly recommended." (Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D. "Dancing With God".) "Carol Orsborn's compellingly honest story is the record of a journey back to the sources of her jewishness...This reader wants to cheer her on." (Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, "The Jews.") "Carol Orsborn's odyssey in search of herself in relationship to God and to her Jewish heritage is a remarkable religious quest. I heartily recommend this book, especially to people who are engaged in similar struggles to know themselves and to understand the evolving patterns of Jewish Life." (Rabbi Randall M. Falk.) The Dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Joseph C. Hough, Jr., wrote the following: "Carol Orsborn's engaging account of her life and time at Vanderbilt Divinity School is a story that will inspire those who are struggling to find their way to new levels of spirituality and faith, and that includes most of us. She has the unique ability to share her own journey and to invite us along. It is exciting to join her." I hope you will enjoy the book -- and your own spiritual journey, regardless of your destination! Carol Matzkin Orsborn.

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0826411029
• ISBN 13: 9780826411020
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 220