Skip to main content

A Soldier's Mother Goes to Print

A Soldier's Mother is the personal blog of the mother of a soldier in the Israeli army, the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Writing to ease her worries, to share her thoughts and to tell her story to the world, this particular soldier's mother started blogging about her eldest son Elie's entry into the IDF in 2007.

Now, A Soldier's Mother will be going to print. There's a fundraising campaign to raise money to print and publish the book: Help A Soldier's Mother get published at Jewcer.com.

I first started reading A Soldier's Mother several years ago. I was looking for new blogs to read, blogs by people from interesting places or those writing about interesting things. I wanted to expand my horizons; get to know different worlds and different perspectives - A Soldier's Mother fit the bill on all counts.

Paula Stern is an American Jewish woman who moved to Israel with her husband and three young children over twenty years ago. Now a famed blogger, CEO of a successful business and mother to five and grandmother to two, she has come to represent the spirit of modern Israel to me. Walking the streets of Israel with this one mother, reading about her beliefs, about her people, about the history of Israel and the deep and loving connection this one woman has to the historic homeland of her people - it has been an amazing journey and one I would recommend to anyone!

Even though I've never met her or talked to her or seen her in person or heard her laugh or cry or seen her hug her children - in my mind I've been with Paula when she's done all those things. Because she describes so vividly what her life is like and what thoughts run through her head and what she sees and feels that it truly feels like I am there with her, thinking with her, feeling with her, exploring with her and getting to know Israel with her.

Through something as simple as a blog, a woman I've never met has changed how I see Israel as a country and as a political entity. She has changed how I see the Israeli Defense Forces and the many young men and women risking their lives every day to protect their homes, their people, their country. I hope that this post inspires you to read the blog for yourself and to really get to know Israel and its people - I promise you it will be an amazing journey!


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The one who changed my thinking

There's a difference between the person who writes this blog, and the person I am when not writing this blog. In my personal life, I'm quiet, someone who doesn't like attention. There are two reasons for that: One: I often feel like people just don't get me. Being 'the outsider' is just easier. No strained interactions. No having to try to fit in. Two: When it comes to stuff I am passionate about, like sociology, psychology, politics and religion, my opinion differs from many around me. I am pro-Israel.  Something that doesn't seem very popular or mainstream. Especially since October 7th. Being pro-Israel, to me... That doesn't mean that I support, or agree with, every decision the Israeli government makes. Far from it. But do I support Israel's right to exist? Yes. Do I support Israel's right to defend itself? Yes. Do I feel that the world is against Israel? Also: Yes. On the 7th of October 2023, a large number of rather angry men entered towns ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917 - 2005) was a Russian American psychologist and professor known for developing the Ecological Systems Theory. He was generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology. I learned about theorists such as Bronfenbrenner while studying towards my B.Ed. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory views the person as developing within a multi-layered system of relationships. Using the example of a child, the systems are: The Microsystem - One's family, classroom The Mesosystem - Two micro-systems in interaction (i.e. family and classroom) The Exosystem - External environments which indirectly influence development The Macrosystem - The larger socio-cultural context. Added later: The Chronosystem - The evolution of the external systems over time. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development. (Source: Wikipedia ) The Microsystem: The setting in which the indi...
Read more

New Orleans' Garden District

Anne Rice's old house on 1239 First Street and the setting of Mayfair Manor Photo Source: Flickr Looking up information about the house writer Anne Rice uses as the site for the family mansion in her Mayfair Witches series, I came across a lot of interesting information about that particular house as well as about the Garden District area of New Orleans. As Victoriana Magazine's website puts it: One of the world's most dazzling residential neighborhoods – containing a time capsule of historic southern mansions – is located in the Louisiana city of New Orleans.  The Garden District, a large square area bounded by Jackson Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Magazine St. and St. Charles Ave, is the live oak tree-lined "American" sector of this southern city. ... The architecture of these historic houses is a fusion of classic styles with influence of Spanish, French, Italianate and English, as well as Greek Revival. These stately homes represent some of the best...
Post a Comment
Read more