Jessica Berger Gross on on Cultural Judaism and Creative Resistance

The Five Books

When Hazel Blum’s father gets a tenured job at a prestigious college, she and her family relocate from Brooklyn to a middle-of-nowhere college town in Maine. With her mother, Claire, a clothing designer, and her father, Gus, an American Studies professor, Hazel and her eleven-year-old brother, Wolf, spend the summer at the town pool, where they acclimate to their new lives and connect with the town’s sprawling community. That is, until a dramatic fallout on the very first day of her senior year tips the fickle balance of idyllic Riverburg and impacts everyone in her family.

Jessica Berger Gross is the author of the memoir Estranged: Leaving Family and Finding Home. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Cut, Longreads and many other publications. She graduated from Vassar College and has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Originally from New York, she lives in Maine with her husband and teenage son. Hazel Says No is her first novel.

In our conversation, we’ll explore finding creativity after trauma, the joy of being “culturally” jewish, and how a high school production of Brighton Beach Memoirs changed the course of her life. We also talk about the power of saying no – not just as a personal boundary, but as an act of resistance, deeply rooted in Jewish tradition.

Jessica Berger Gross’ Five Books:

1. Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon

2. Howard Stern Comes Again by Howard Stern

3. The Postcard by Anne Berest

4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

5. Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross

Other Books Mentioned:

- Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

- Are you there God? It’s Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank- Far from the Tree by Andrew Solomon

- She Said by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey

- Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

- Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Rabbi Sharon Brous (Senior Rabbi at IKAR, and author of The Amen Effect), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.)

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