My Lover the Rabbi, My Husband the Doctor: What more could a Jewish girl want?

Cheryl Grady Mercier and Ethel J. David
Booklocker.com (2006)
ISBN 9781601450357
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (12/06)


This is a book you won’t want to miss!  The life of Ethel J. David is told with great wisdom and humor.  Ethel told Cheryl in the beginning that she wanted the book to be “Fiction, I’d like to make it even better than it was.”  Ethel shares stories of her life with the readers; she does so with wisdom and a lot of humor. 

Ethel was born in Northern Kentucky in 1916.  She was an only child.  Birth control was non-existent at that time; she fondly tells how her mother asked a prostitute how she prevented pregnancy.  But the family pressured her to have a child, she relented, hence Ethel was born. 

She recalls the time when the KKK came to town.  The Sheriff came to the door with a shotgun and warned her father that he couldn’t protect him.  She saw the cross burning across the street and felt her mother’s fear. 

Ethel continues sharing her life experiences in every other chapter.  Cheryl shares her observations in alternate chapters.  In the introduction Ethel J. David shares her reasons for writing this book:  first, to look back at her personal history, second, as a legacy to her children and grand children, and third, to see if it was publishable.  This book is definitely publishable and readable!

I found myself eagerly turning pages so that Cheryl and Ethel could share their experiences with me.  Both are interesting and it’s obvious that they are good friends.  The book flows smoothly from experience to experience.  Both women face trials and heartache and both have become stronger women because of it.  The title is superb as is the cover.  The print is easy on tired eyes.  I feel as if Cheryl and Ethel have become my friends.  Both of these ladies are strong and the world is a better place for them having lived here.  I highly recommend “My Lover the Rabbi, My Husband the Doctor” to those who enjoy fiction and nonfiction. 

Make comment on weblog