Publishers Weekly
01/04/2016
Rabbi Silverman (Jewish Family and Life), who always dreamed of adopting a child, chronicles her journey from her home in Massachusetts to an orphanage in Ethiopia to do just that. Silverman and her husband, Yosef Abramowitz, an activist and writer, had three daughters when they adopted Adar, who was relinquished by an unknown birth mother and gathered into the Silverman and Ambromowitz’s family at the age of nine months. They would eventually adopt a second Ethiopian son. Though the title may sound solemn, Silverman’s writing is anything but; like her sister, comedian Sarah Silverman, the author has a keen sense of humor and embellishes her narrative with laughs. For example, the night of the baby’s circumcision, her husband cuts the tips off all the vegetables served for dinner. The memoir also describes how she embarked on the path to become a rabbi, though her parents disdained religion and at the onset she didn’t even know the Hebrew alphabet. On occasion, she weaves in tales from the Bible, relating them to contemporary life and particularly her own story (Moses, for instance, was abandoned by his mother to save her son from harm). Devoted to family, faith, and her partnership with God, Silverman paints an honest portrait of an imperfect but loving household. Readers of many traditions will enjoy Silverman’s tender adoption story. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Boston Globe, 4/26/16
“Rabbi Susan Silverman matches her sister's sharp wit, foul mouth, and incongruously soft heart…[An] intimate, quirky memoir…A story of sensitivity and love.”
Jewish Woman International, Spring 2016
“Compelling…This is a memoir written with passion and humor by someone who wants to improve the world. [Silverman] writes with openness and curiosity, telling a story that is both spiritual and practical.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/15/16
“Irreverent and witty, but also achingly honest and touching in unexpected ways. This is not your typical adoption memoir.”
Jewish Journal, 6/9/16
“An endearing and inspiring account…Silverman is a natural storyteller…Casting Lots is, among other things, an act of courage. Silverman is brutally honest about herself, her family and her faith. She wants to inspire her readers, but she never fails to remind them that parenting requires not only love but, perhaps even more importantly, patience, strength, compassion and determination, all qualities that's she possesses and seeks to share.”
Praise for Casting Lots
Kirkus Reviews, 1/1/16
“A book rich in understanding and humor…[Silverman] meditates on what it means to live as a broken being in a beautifully imperfect world. Warm and spiritually engaging.”
Publishers Weekly, 1/4/16
“Though the title may sound solemn, Silverman's writing is anything but; like her sister, comedian Sarah Silverman, the author has a keen sense of humor and embellishes her narrative with laughs…Devoted to family, faith, and her partnership with God, Silverman paints an honest portrait of an imperfect but loving household. Readers of many traditions will enjoy Silverman's tender adoption story.”
Nia Vardalos, author of the New York Times bestseller Instant Mom
“A hilarious and touching story! If you've ever pondered your purpose on this tiny planet, you'll love this guide to living a happy life of beautiful chaos, all according to the plan.”
Mayim Bialik, actress, author of Mayim's Vegan Table and Beyond the Sling
“A funny and inspiring story of one family's journey from love to yet more love. Beautifully told!”
Melissa Fay Greene, author of Praying for Sheetrock and The Underdogs
“Casting Lots is a fearless wise-cracking rabble-rousing American woman's tale of how, against all odds, flanked by comedians, she ended up a rabbi. Given her nutty background, of course she's irreverent, but this funny big-hearted rabbi is reverent where it counts the most: toward Heaven, toward Judaism, and toward her family. The book brims with sudden turns and surprising tenderness, mayhem and tears, love and laughter.”
Paul Beatty, author of The Sellout
“This is a beautiful, deeply touching book—one to use as a guide in how to turn our fears and anxieties into kindness and generosity, and tell a joke or two while we're at it.”
Julius Lester, author of Lovesong: Becoming a Jew
“Casting Lots is about so many things but most of all it is a book about love in all its messiness, chaos, neediness, confusion, and, ultimately glory. It is also a very funny book, proving that younger sister Sarah Silverman is not the only one in the family with a wicked sense of humor. It is a book of ruthless honesty about a family that is far from perfect, disorganization is the norm, and parenting skills could use some improvement. But nothing of that really matters where the love is as fierce as it is here. This is more than a book. It is an incredible experience.”
New York Jewish Week, 2/19/16
“Silverman is an outspoken advocate for adoption.”
New York Post, 3/26/16
“Silverman makes the case that international adoption, which has dropped off dramatically in recent years—from 45,000 in 2004 to 7,200 in 2013—needs to be more feasible.”
Jewish Book Council, 3/29/16
“[An] enchanting memoir by writer, activist, reform rabbi, and mother Susan Silverman about discovering her own inner strength and indomitable will to give shape to her random world, to weave a solid construct of her and her family's lives where there might have been none...Silverman's efforts to better the world by creating a family, and not settling for one that was thrown her way in a lottery is an inspiring read that gives hope to those who believe that loving kindness can be a way of life.”
Manchester Union Leader, 4/17/16
“A memoir that blends spirituality, pathos, humor and wisdom.”
Neshamah Center, 4/3/16
“An excellent book…A celebration of family…Susan shares the trials and tribulations of raising five kids with the self-deprecating humor and wit of Anne Lamott...The book is very honest, almost like a reality TV show…Everything is told with love and humor…You don't have to be a parent or interested in adoption to enjoy this book. It's a compelling read.”
"Not many memoirs leave readers with the question 'How will I respond?' This one does...Anyone with a complicated, messy life and family-namely, all of us-will find a home in Silverman's story."
—Christian Century
"Susan and her unique family is a microcosm of the hope and despair of the world we all live in. As funny as it is moving, this meditation on identity and faith will resonate with anyone trying to find their place in the world." —Off the Shelf
Kirkus Reviews
2015-12-17
A rabbi's account of how she helped her two adopted sons from Ethiopia assimilate Jewish cultural traditions and blend into her family. Silverman (co-author: Jewish Family and Life: Traditions, Holidays, and Values for Today's Parents and Children, 1997) grew up with nonpracticing Jewish parents who, through divorce and remarriage, eventually evolved into a "sprawling, unconventional, and finally happy family." When she started her own family after college, it was with a devoutly Jewish man who actively supported political causes and inspired her to learn more about her cultural and religious traditions. After going "from zero to two children within two years" and writing a book about the "organic relationship between Jewish life and progressive, activist values," she decided to live out her most cherished dream of adopting a child from abroad. She and her husband registered with an adoption agency and allowed their faith to guide them to the two boys they adopted from Ethiopia, a country with historical ties to Judaism. The sense of fulfillment she experienced was profound. So was the frustration at being unable to give her adopted children more than a "messy mosaic" of family stories within "the unwieldy unfolding narrative of Jewish people" upon which to construct their identities and lives. When her first adopted son, Adari, began to express his unhappiness at being unable to live in a "brown family," Silverman saw just how far the lived reality of blended family life was from her Edenic visions. Yet for all its imperfections, which she and her husband embraced with open arms, she also realized what a miracle her family was. In a book rich in understanding and humor, the author chronicles her quest to bring herself and her family closer to God. She also meditates on what it means to live as a broken being in a beautifully imperfect world. Warm and spiritually engaging.
