Publishers Weekly
★ 12/18/2023
Rabbi Brous, founder of the justice-driven Jewish spiritual community IKAR, explores in her compassionate debut how to better connect with others in a social climate of widespread division. For Brous, of foremost importance is simply “showing up” for others in hard times, a principle that’s illustrated by a Mishnaic ritual in which pilgrims circled the temple courtyard in one direction and comforted the “grieving, the lonely, the sick,” who were moving in the opposite direction (the practice “awaken us to one another’s humanity,” Brous explains, because “today, you walk from left to right. Tomorrow, it will be me”). Also discussed is the value of showing up for one another in happy moments (sharing good news can be more psychologically beneficial than experiencing the joyous event in the first place, recent research suggests); seeking emotional support when needed; and getting genuinely curious about others, because “when we don’t wonder what thinking or feeling... our hearts close.” The author’s religious- based principles are anchored by practical tips for conducting “openhearted” conversations with those across the political aisle and helping the bereaved by making meals and providing childcare. Seamlessly mixing rabbinic wisdom, personal anecdotes, and psychology (she discusses compassion fatigue and how mirror neurons facilitate sharing others’ joy), Brous offers readers hope for building bridges. This inspires. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Rabbi Brous shares remarkable compassion, insight, and moral vision in these pages that illuminate a way forward at a time when the fog of fear and anger in the world grows ever dense. This wonderful book is welcome, affirming, and urgently needed.”
—Bryan Stevenson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy
“Sharon Brous is one of the most visionary, beloved rabbis in the U.S. today. What a joy to welcome this book into the world.”
—Krista Tippett, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Wise
“Sharon Brous has drawn deep from the wells of her spiritual tradition to help quench the thirst of people facing the wilderness of loneliness and injustice today. . . . We all need this wisdom.”
—Bishop William J. Barber II, founding director of Yale’s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy and president of Repairers of the Breach
“Sharon Brous has a rare gift for bringing people together, and her words are a welcome reminder of our common humanity.”
—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential
“Sharon Brous has crafted a profound and poetic reminder that the remedy for a fractured world is human connection. The Amen Effect is a powerful call for each of us to show up for others, see them fully, and hold them close.”
—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret
“Through her warmth and wit, Rabbi Sharon Brous charts a path through the darkness, giving readers a sense of hope, healing, and human connection, so that we can find meaning in a world that feels frightening and chaotic.”
—Reza Aslan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
“Rabbi Brous teaches us how to find hope on every page of this moving and critically important book, but if you read closely you will also find love, faith, and courage.”
—Mayim Bialik, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Girling Up
“Brilliant, tender, and wise, The Amen Effect is a must-read guide for how to be brave with grief, find one another in the dark, and reclaim our joy.”
—Valarie Kaur, author of See No Stranger
“With both wisdom and gentleness, Rabbi Sharon Brous gives us all a way to move beyond fears about the survival of institutions to an intentional embracing of our connections with one another. Deeply moved by stories drawn from ancient texts and personal accounts, and questions that get to the heart of my own experience, I find myself saying, ‘Amen . . . and thank you!’”
—Bishop Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Churchand author of Love Is the Way
“I’ve already made a list in my head of friends and family I want to share this book with—I’m so taken by its wisdom and way of framing how we can reach out to one another, how we can live with joy and pain at the same time. What a thrill it is to be able to access Rabbi Brous’s ideas and wisdom in these chapters at any moment!”
—Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
“This book is saturated with a lifetime of wisdom and love. If you’re one of the millions of people who do not have a wise rabbi, pastor, priest, imam, or other source of deep wisdom in your life—or even if you do—. . . then borrow Rabbi Sharon Brous for a few hours and let her speak to you through this beautiful book. You’ll read of birth and death, sorrow and joy, grief and delight . . . and you will finish this book knowing that a wise rabbi has spoken to your deepest heart.”
—Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith After Doubt
FEBRUARY 2024 - AudioFile
Rabbi Sharon Brous, the senior rabbi of a Jewish community in Los Angeles, is an accomplished preacher who speaks clearly and quickly. Her fast pace becomes compelling as Rabbi Brous gets into the heart of her book, which rests on this statement that ". . . we who hold a dream of building a different kind of society must begin by building a different kind of community." Rabbi Brous's wonderful storytelling ability highlights an ancient Second Temple ritual demonstrating the need to acknowledge the pain of loss or illness; she then gives examples of her own community's striving to show up during situations both good and bad. She creates a superbly useful template for our times, when true community often seems to hang by a thread. S.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
