OH Book Review: A Tale of Two Seders by Mindy Avra Portnoy

When I was contacted by a press representative asking me if I'd like to review a copy of Mindy Avra Portnoy's new book A Tale of Two Seders I gladly accepted thinking it would be about the ways different families conduct Passover Seders. Boy was I wrong. Not at all about diverse Seders, it's about a divorced family dealing with separate Seders...Duh:

According to the press release which accompanied the book:

Divorce is always difficult. But the holiday of Passover gives a Jewish child a chance to celebrate with each parent. Over the course of three years and six seders, we see a little girl come to grips with her new family situation, as she and her parents forge new lives and create new family traditions.

Being myself a child of divorce my kids often have questions about what it was like for me to celebrate holidays in two separate places. Now, I'd like to say my parents provided as smooth a transition for my brother and I as the one the main character experiences in the book but the reality is my parents didn't handle it well.

Which brings me to why any couple who has kids and are facing divorce should read this book. Besides being a well-crafted story accompanied by Valeria Cis's lovely illustrations, this book is the perfect model for divorce-induced separate holidays done right. And while we find the girl dreaming about Seders past, back when everyone she loves were under one roof, she comes to understand that even if her parent's divorce isn't what she ideally wants it actually isn't that bad.

The book ends with a touching moment between the main character and her mom:

That night when Mom tucked me in, she told me that families are like charoset. Some have more ingredients than others, some stick together better than others, some are sweeter than others. But each one is tasty in it's own way.

Tears flowing, insides warming up...Good work Mindy and Valeria.