Jewish Memoir Book Review: Since Sinai by Shannon Gonyou

´Everything builds slowly and beautifully´.

A practicant Catholic by default, involved in various social and outreach projects, practicing attorney Shannon Gonyou and her husband decided to convert to Masorti Judaism. Since Sinai. A Convert´s Path to Judaism is her memoir documenting the journey in a very considerate, honest and meaningful way.

This book helps not only anyone looking to build up his or her Jewish journey but equally brings understanding of the spiritual process and the decision making to those who may wonder why someone will take the - difficult, in Jewish terms - decision to convert. 

´Mostly though, I recognize that it´s incumpent upon me to build Jewish history with my family today, even if I can´t change the fact that my family´s ancestry and the ancestry of the Jewish people is not one and the same´. As Shannon, her husband and daughter are looking to create their own Jewish stories, they change places and getting to meet a wide range of people - Chabad, from the ´Orthodox´ type, as well as various reform brands of Judaism. The decision to convert was a quest and a journey, without being made under pressure - for marriage purposes, for instance, and Gonyou has a clear and lucid voice documenting her experiences.

People who convert may usually deal with different levels of mistrust and discrimination, but the Masorti choice and the fact that both of them were already married, diminished the occurence of such encounters. I really loved her voice and honest writing, covering issues beyond her search for a Jewish home, such as sexual experiences and eating disorder during her Catholic young years, as well as her personal story with her biological mother.

Since Sinai is one of those books revealing windows into stories that cannot be known otherwise than by direct testimonies. ´The persuasion price of this narrative is that converts can, and do, find a meaningful home in Judaism, and I´m an example of one of those converts´. I wish there will be more such testimonies that will bring more clarity and knowledge about choices some people do, no matter the risks and the challenges, for achieving a higher spiritual everyday life. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review