The Hand of Miram by Ellen Gelerman

Join us for a discussion and online conversation with the author.

About the book:

Evil is the fur­thest thing from 12-year-old Miri­am Saper­stein’s mind. There’s a new step­fa­ther, a baby broth­er, and now a move from her tiny Long Island town to Brook­lyn to live with a great-grand­moth­er she bare­ly knows. Left to her own devices in an unfa­mil­iar place, Miri­am must find some­thing — or some­one — to enter­tain her.

When she meets the elder­ly neigh­bor known as ​“The Ice­berg,” the stranger makes an aston­ish­ing claim: that they both are part of an ancient line of Jew­ish women — extend­ing back to the bib­li­cal Miri­am — capa­ble of pro­tect­ing oth­ers from the Evil Eye.

Are Miri­am and The Ice­berg delud­ing them­selves, or are they actu­al­ly part of some­thing mys­te­ri­ous, powerful…and as old as the Torah itself? And will the amulets and bless­ings they rely on be enough when real Evil turns its eye their way?

The Hand of Miri­am is a whol­ly orig­i­nal com­ing-of-age sto­ry weav­ing togeth­er Jew­ish tra­di­tion, the hid­den inner strength of girls and women, and the strug­gles of find­ing one’s place in the world.

If you enjoy reading and discussing books with others, this group is for you. The discussions are lively, informative and at times, soul-searching.

Third Monday of each month
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
In-person or via Zoom
Price: Free

RSVP to Robin Ford at Rford@UJFT.org or (757) 321-2304.