Bloomfield Avenue: A Jewish-Catholic Jersey Girl's Spiritual Journey

by Linda Mercadante

Overview

In this memoir, Mercadante tells of her quest for religious identity, a real home, good work, and a one-faith family. Born just after World War II to a mixed-religion family, she tries Catholicism, a WASP sorority, atheism, Eastern mysticism, and vegetarianism. She works as an airline stewardess and as a journalist. She earns a doctorate and becomes a seminary professor. Her story holds key lessons for people from “mixed” backgrounds, those who long for the ideal family, and those who shun religion as a dead-end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561012787
Publisher:	Cowley Publications
Publication date:	09/25/2006
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.54(w) x 8.56(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Linda Mercadante is professor of theology in the B. Robert Straker Chair at The Methodist Theological School in Ohio. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and author of three books.

Editorial Reviews

When Mercadante misses the neighborhood where she grew up, she watches reruns of The Sopranos. Newark's Bloomfield Avenue, site of numerous scenes in the TV series, was where her Italian immigrant father brought his New York Jewish bride shortly after World War II. "Mixed marriages" were scandalous in those days, and the couple dealt with their differences by virtually banning religion from their home-"the worst solution of all," according to their daughter, because "children are naturally spiritual." Hungry for God's approval, Mercadante was baptized twice; first at age eight in Sacred Heart Cathedral, then in her 20s at L'Abri, Francis Schaeffer's evangelical center in Switzerland. Eager to assimilate into the wider American culture, she became a reporter, accumulated awards and earned advanced degrees, despite struggles with infertility, domestic violence and gender-based barriers. "We don't take girls in management," an airline recruiter told her, "but you'd make a great airline stewardess." Now an ordained Presbyterian minister and a theology professor at a Methodist seminary, Mercadante concludes her colorful and compelling memoir with a dash of American optimism: "No matter how many dreams smash in front of you, if you follow the lure of love, God will use that love to make you whole." (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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