“Dear Rebecca,

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work, your honesty, your general loveliness! I first discovered Black White and Jewish when I was an MA student in English, seriously thinking through issues of identity and race in literature. I was also, incidentally, thinking through my own identity as a Jewish Latina, and so much of what you wrote resonated with me. Indeed, so much of what you had to say about your own family life, and about being a child of divorce made me feel affirmed. After reading your book I was able to feel comfortable articulating just how significant my parents’ divorce had been for me. Recently, I bought Baby Love. I read it at a time when I was thinking about balancing a PhD program with having a child, and I felt desperately torn and conflicted and uncomfortable with my primal mom urges! Thank you, thank you, thank you for articulating my own anxieties, fears, and longings. Anyway,I feel like your books are great examples of synchronicity in my life, and they always seem to find me at just the right moment. Thank you for always seeming to be several steps ahead of me, lighting the way with your words!”

“Dear Rebecca,

I was so moved by your article. Thanks for having the courage to be honest and to communicate something so integral to my life. I have a multicultural background as well (Mom is Mexican American, Dad is Haitian and Cuban). At an early young age, I saw through the fallacy of race and the myth of a racism-free multicultural home. I do think our generation has seen through the myth of feminism. I do believe and advocate for woman’s rights but I never confuse that with feminism. I grew up dreaming of business suits never a wedding dress. I was told you don’t need men. But we do and they need us. I felt so guilty just being at home with my daughters as if I wasn’t contributing to society. I am now content and feeling fulfilled in changing the world by raising strong discerning women. Thanks for affirming so much of my personal beliefs in your article and best wishes to you and yours! ”

“Rebecca,

Tonight I finished Baby Love and it touched me in a way that most books...just don’t. Not many women write about the struggles associated with becoming a mother—the decisions, the ambivalence, the assumptions.When I got married and had my first son, most people who thought they knew me said they were shocked. I was so strong (to them), so independent, why get married. What they didn’t understand was that having a family of my own—having a partner that I could trust—and making beautiful babies was all I’d ever wanted. EVER! I too, Rebecca, am raising children as a mother without a mother, and while being”motherless” with a mother who lives and breathes as I do, is difficult, upsetting, and often inconceivable, I work every day to give my little ones the stability, love, respect, and VOICE I never had. I appreciate your honesty and willingness to share your story. It has given me inspiration to tell my own without shame and fear. ”

“Rebecca,

After first learning of your latest book in People magazine I knew it was a must-read. I’ve just finished reading Baby Love, and I had to email you to let you know that after years and years (quite literally) of reading, learning, exploring, analyzing and soul searching that nothing had quite given me the validation of my life that this book has given me. Your frank sharing of experiences, coupled with unbridled discussions with my husband of 2 years has finally given me a peace that I never thought I could find.

Thank you.”