Suddenly Jewish: The Life and Times of My Jewish Mother by Joan Moran is a unique memoir told by the daughter of a mother who chose early on to shun her Jewish identity. The family migrated from Europe to Canada to New York and eventually to San Francisco, presenting a culturally and historically rich backdrop to this compelling story. Estelle Moran (born Esther Lanch) is the daughter of Rose, who embraced her Jewish heritage but had to hide her prayer life and traditions from her intolerant husband. The story begins with Rose as a young girl and follows her as she becomes a wife and then a mother of two daughters. During the 1920s and beyond in the United States, illegal alcohol flowed freely among speakeasies, and illegal abortions were carried out in seedy houses along dark alleys. Marriages were often loveless or even violent, and women sometimes struggled to survive and thrive because of inequalities and limited access to job opportunities and basic rights.

“Rose was a courageous and brave young woman in a time when women were not perceived as having the fortitude to be adventurous and take chances.”

Joan Moran’s storytelling is impressive as she builds a tale across three generations of Jewish women, with Joan suddenly discovering that she, after attending Catholic schools and weekly Mass, has been Jewish since birth. Suddenly Jewish is filled with laughter, love, fear, courage, revelations, and the realization that being Jewish transcends observing traditional prayer and practices. The story flows easily from Rose to Estelle and finally to Joan, all connected by blood, tenacity, and Judaism amidst antisemitism and judgment. 

Estelle’s life is the main event, bookended by her mother Rose and her daughter Joan; however, ultimately, Suddenly Jewish is about identity as a wife, mother, daughter, and a working woman in a man’s world, in addition to being Jewish. Estelle chose to stubbornly deny her Jewish faith and heritage, while Joan embraced this aspect of herself that was there all along. This story displays the difficult choices many women often need to make during tough times, the value of friendship and family, and the importance of accepting one’s own and other people’s differences and opposing opinions and beliefs.

Joan Moran lovingly shares her family’s history, highlighting the generational struggle of being considered Other based on culture, ethnicity, and religion, with this conflict remaining relevant today and probably continuing long into the future.