Danya Ruttenberg

At thirteen, Danya Ruttenberg (editor of Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism published by Seal Press), decided that she was an atheist.

As a young adult, Danya immersed herself in the rhinestone-bedazzled wonderland of late-1990s San Francisco—attending Halloweens on the Castro, drinking smuggled absinthe with wealthy geeks, and plotting the revolution with feminist zinemakers. But she found herself yearning for something she would eventually call God.

Surprised by God is a religious coming of age story, from the mosh pit to the Mission District and beyond. It’s the memoir of a young woman who found, lost, and found again communities of like-minded seekers, all the while taking a winding, semi-reluctant path through traditional Jewish practice that eventually took her to the rabbinate. It’s a post-dotcom, third-wave, punk-rock Seven Storey Mountain—the story of the political implications of integrating life on the edge of the twenty-first century into the discipline of traditional Judaism without sacrificing either.

“Danya Ruttenberg marshals beautiful writing and a prodigious intellect, and, leavening it all with a hefty dose of wit, tells a compelling story that has something to teach everyone who picks it up, regardless of how spiritual or religious (or not) they are.”

—Lisa Jervis, cofounder of Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture

Books will be on sale at the event. Can’t make it? Buy the book here to support CNW and women’s bookstores!