A wise and deeply moving story of one family's search for its Sephardic roots. When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she is visited by the family matriarch, an indomitable Renaissance businesswoman named Hannah Mendes (a true historical figure), who encourages her to send her granddaughters to journey across Europe. Hannah promises to reacquaint them with their roots through her own handwritten memoirs.

READERS WRITE:

"... this book does not disappoint. I smile, I weep, I sigh, I remember; I am IN these pages. There is love and despair, hope and hopelessness, connection and rebellion - all woven together in a fascinating family story, set over hundreds of years from the Inquisition/Expulsion to the present. My only complaint is that Ms. Ragen doesn't write often enough!"

Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and playwright who has lived in Jerusalem since 1971. She has published seven internationally best-selling novels, and is the author of a hit play. Naomi also publishes a regular column that deals with Jewish subjects, especially Israel, to which you can subscribe by clicking here.

נעמי רגן היא סופרת ומחזאית ירושלמית שעלתה לארץ מארה"ב בשנת 1971. עד כה, כתבה נעמי 7 ספרים רבי-מכר באנגלית (שתורגמו כולם לעברית) ומחזה אחד שהוצג בארץ (מעל ל-450 הצגות בתיאטרון הבימה), בארה"ב ובארגנטינה. נעמי מפרסמת מאמרים (באנגלית) לרשימת התפוצה שלה. כדי להצטרף לרשימה, הקלק פה

Click here to read Naomi's original article about how she was attacked by a religious fanatic because she refused to move to the back (the "women's section") of a Jerusalem bus. See also the articles in Times of London, Jerusalem Post, Newsday, NPR, YNet, Asia News, Express India and the Toronto Globe and Mail about the court battle to end gender segregation on Israel's buses.

To read all of Naomi's articles, click here.