By
– December 16, 2011
Joanne Doades’s humorous twist on the title of Maimonides’ 12th century philosophy book, A Guide for the Perplexed, was reassuring to me — a typical, loving but anxious Jewish mom of three teens. In short, readable chapters, Doades presents the challenges inherent in raising teens today. She uses both personal anecdotes and Jewish wisdom, including the conflicts in relationships from the ancient stories in the Bible as well as rabbinic teachings. Doades brings out the beauty in traditional rituals and their importance in helping to maintain a warm and functional family home. She doesn’t claim to offer miracle cures to resolve parenting issues but promotes open communication, workshops, and support groups. Parenting is a work in progress and parents must learn and grow on the job as they help their children move to independence and adulthood. There is a short appendix with resources for special needs family situations. I believe that Doades’s bottomline parenting message is “hineini” (“here I am”), that the most important feeling every parent should impart to his child is that he is always available to that child.
Miriam Bradman Abrahams, mom, grandmom, avid reader, sometime writer, born in Havana, raised in Brooklyn, residing in Long Beach on Long Island. Longtime former One Region One Book chair and JBC liaison for Nassau Hadassah, currently presenting Incident at San Miguel with author AJ Sidransky who wrote the historical fiction based on her Cuban Jewish refugee family’s experiences during the revolution. Fluent in Spanish and Hebrew, certified hatha yoga instructor.