ABSTRACT
The narratives in this book express with abundant clarity some of the complexities, enigmas, contradictions, paradoxes, and felt sense of entrapment that are endemic in the cultural process and the search for a positive cultural identity. Each of the contributors addresses family of origin history, relationships with family members, and salient experiences from early life to the present that influenced what she experiences as her Jewish identity, her chosen profession as psychotherapist, and how she engages in professional practice. They are particularly informing in their analyses of how they use themselves in the therapy process and how that is connected to their identity as Jewish women. Each personal story provides us with a new prism with which to view the connection between social context, family history/dynamics, and individual identity in terms of cultural perspective and meaning. Together they demonstrate the complexity of Jewish identity and the often contradictory aspects of that experience. They also reveal how much one's personal experiences growing up and then later in life, which is uniquely interwoven with cultural identity and connection, overlaps with our training as psychotherapists and operates as determinants in our professional work.
