MSI Press Blog

  The following excerpt comes from Since Sinai by Shannon Gonyou. Foreword This book is about my journey as a woman raised Catholic in a town with very little exposure to Jews and Jewish ideas who subsequently became Jewish. If you picked up this book, it could mean one of a few things. Maybe your family has been Jewish for generations, and you’re curious about why a total stranger to Judaism would want to join the community. Maybe you’re considering Judaism for yourself and are curious about what the process of conversion will look and feel like. Perhaps you’re a devoted Christian, curious about what would lead someone away from Christianity. This book will strive to provide a satisfactory answer to all of those questions. My high school English teacher told me that every piece of writing is a persuasion piece. I think that’s true, but this book is not here to persuade you that Christianity is “wrong” or that Judaism is “right.” I won’t even attempt to persuade you that Juda...

    Today's Publisher's Pride is  Since Sinai  by Shannon Gonyou, which reached #47 in biographies of Judaism. Book Description: Raised in a heavily Catholic suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Shannon grew up focusing on two things: how to do enough good deeds to get into heaven and how to stay pure enough to escape hell. In college, she followed many of her peers into an Evangelical church known for guitars, drum, religious-based shame, and the idea that without Jesus she was nothing. But when she encountered Judaism on that same campus, a spark ignited within her and refused to be put out. Judaism felt obvious, familiar. After a falling out with her biological mother and two miscarriages, she found the courage to send the most important email of her life: she asked the local Jews by Choice program to accept her as a student. Honest and unflinching, Shannon's story of coming home to Judaism encourages everyone-- Christian, atheist, Jewish, and anything in between-- to sea...

  Today's Publisher's Pride is  Since Sinai  by Shannon Gonyou, which reached #9 in Jewish biographies and $340 in Judaism. Book Description: Raised in a heavily Catholic suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Shannon grew up focusing on two things: how to do enough good deeds to get into heaven and how to stay pure enough to escape hell. In college, she followed many of her peers into an Evangelical church known for guitars, drum, religious-based shame, and the idea that without Jesus she was nothing. But when she encountered Judaism on that same campus, a spark ignited within her and refused to be put out. Judaism felt obvious, familiar. After a falling out with her biological mother and two miscarriages, she found the courage to send the most important email of her life: she asked the local Jews by Choice program to accept her as a student. Honest and unflinching, Shannon's story of coming home to Judaism encourages everyone-- Christian, atheist, Jewish, and anything in between-...

    Today's Publisher's Pride is  Since Sinai  by Shannon Gonyou, which reached #47 in biographies of Judaism. Book Description: Raised in a heavily Catholic suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Shannon grew up focusing on two things: how to do enough good deeds to get into heaven and how to stay pure enough to escape hell. In college, she followed many of her peers into an Evangelical church known for guitars, drum, religious-based shame, and the idea that without Jesus she was nothing. But when she encountered Judaism on that same campus, a spark ignited within her and refused to be put out. Judaism felt obvious, familiar. After a falling out with her biological mother and two miscarriages, she found the courage to send the most important email of her life: she asked the local Jews by Choice program to accept her as a student. Honest and unflinching, Shannon's story of coming home to Judaism encourages everyone-- Christian, atheist, Jewish, and anything in between-- to sea...