Description
From (one) Life to (the next) Life explores how living in the shadow of death is the secret to leading a meaningful life. Faced with the loss of her baby son, the author shares her personal journey from paralyzing grief to living a life infused with purpose and passion. This powerful memoir is filled with Jewish teachings about birth, death, and the afterlife, including the how and why behind Jewish burial practices.
An inspiring story that is both profound and comforting.
“This book presents the unvarnished truth about death so honestly that it opens a window of understanding about the Jewish approach to healthy grieving and recovery.”
Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz
“A must-read. Elissa guides us to understand and value the way that death infuses life with meaning and gratitude. Elissa has…transformed her pain into wisdom and tenderness.”
Sherri Mandell, author of The Kabbalah of Writing: Mystical Practices for Inspiration and Creativity
About the author:
Elissa Felder is the Coordinator for Core’s Communities of Practice (www.CoreTorah.org). Core is an international organization that aims to create warm and inspiring Jewish communities by nourishing and networking women. Core offers training, resources, and support for women who want to strengthen their communities on an intentional and ongoing basis. In her role, Elissa helps these international communities grow and thrive. Elissa started and actively manages Core’s community of practice for women engaged with traditional chevrah kadisha. This is a global community whose mission is to share experiences, give encouragement, network, and help to develop and support others. She is responsible for providing on-going professional development for the community. The knowledge she acquired through her work motivated her to write this book.
Additionally, she is very active in her local chevrah kadisha and speaks widely on this topic.
Elissa is the Founding Director of Core Connects RI, a non-profit organization that aims to deepen women’s connections to one another, to Jewish wisdom, and to Jewish values, as well as to empower each other to find greater meaning, purpose, and possibility in life and to cultivate unity without uniformity. As director she is passionate about providing others with opportunities to grow and become. She runs programming both online and in person.
Elissa is passionate about bringing Jews together and celebrating their commonalities rather than their differences. Through all of these experiences, Elissa mentors and encourages others on their journeys.
More Information
Dimensions 6X9
ISBN 9781961602472
Publisher Mosaica Press
Number of pages 191
Item # 8617
Binding type Hard Cover
Miriam –
This was such a beautifully written book. I literally could not put it down and that is saying a lot for a book about such a heavy topic. I highly recommend this book for anyone curious about life after life.
MLF –
I felt both privileged and honored to be privy to the journey that Elissa has taken. I am awed by her faith, her raw and honest accounting of her emotions and all the struggles that go along with them, and am truly inspired by her deep desire to grow and not get stuck in a dark place. Elissa seamlessly weaves together her own personal story of loss with the Jewish take and approach on death, dying, and bereavement. It is not an easy topic to highlight, but I highly recommend that everyone take the time to read it.
SK –
This book is a must read. Elissa seamlessly weaves together her personal experiences along with many Torah sources and the combination is so uplifting and inspiring. There is so much wisdom and depth here contained in Elissa’s beautiful writing. Highly recommend.
Major –
This book was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. I gained so much insight into this topic. Death isn’t something we speak about and yet it’s a part of all of our lives. Elissa weaved her story with Jewish teachings which gives the reader a deeper understanding of the practices and wisdom. I can’t recommend this book.
Judy Kaye –
Passion, poignancy, authenticity, and faith pour out from every page of this memoir. It was truly moving and humbling to read about Elissa’s personal journey at such a deep level (I’ve known her for many years.). May her story touch many people, comforting their hearts, stimulating their learning, and lifting their spirits.
Raphael –
Elissa Felder describes her intensely personal story of tragic losses and proceeds to teach the reader an enormous amount about Jewish traditions, laws and practices related to death. I learned so much about the deeply respectful and spiritually informed preparation of the body for burial, about the psalms that are read and how all of that intention benefits the soul of the deceased. Mrs. Felder shows us many ways that she was able to learn such fundamental Jewish concepts from her own losses. It was very comforting to me as I ponder my own past losses. The fact that she could learn so much inspires me to believe that we can all learn. Her book is relatively short and easily digestible. It will be so helpful to others as a launching pad for further conversations about these very relevant topics. This is one of the most meaningful books I’ve read in a very long time!
B. R. –
Elissa, thank you for your courage and vulnerability! I found this book life altering! What an absolute masterpiece! I could NOT put down the book! It’s incredibly well written! Surprisingly uplifting! Very informative!
Sarah –
I am speechless… Elissa’s writing and her story are both extremely moving and, unexpectedly, educational. I cried so deeply as I read her experiences with Sam, Danielle, and ultimately Leora. Although I have not personally experienced the same type of trauma that Elissa has, I still so felt and related to her stories, and learned from her wisdom. Reading from One Life to the Next Life was cathartic, meaningful, and even optimistic. An absolute necessity to read for all interested in making some sense of their own personal journey, or to learn how to be a needed friend for others going through such tragedies.