adminPlaces We Leave Behind – Jennifer Lang (reviewed by Monette Moradi)
With a memoir that borders on modern poetry in certain chapters, Jennifer Lang delivers an honest account of her nomadic lifestyle as a non-observant Jewish woman traveling through Jewish life worldwide in Places We Leave Behind. Seeing Israel, France, and two centers of Jewish life from 1985 to 2011, her journey is one of finding meaning and purpose in the world as a counterpart (but never a rival) to her more observant husband and growing family. While details of her childhood and extended family are sparse, the snapshots and interactions we are given put her written thoughts and personal goals into context for every obstacle she faces.
Key moments are the focus of this story, which leads to unclear time jumps except for when major events in modern history are mentioned. Due to this format, the initial ten chapters may be disorienting. However, they ultimately evolve into a compelling narrative that becomes irresistible, as the reader is eager to discover Lang’s fate.
Another key “character” in this book is her husband Phillipe, who is an equal force in their family regarding their nomadic lifestyle and religious observance. We see this during their courtship at the beginning of the chapter “Seesaw”. When Lang is spending more and more time with her future husband, they encounter an issue of observance of Shabbat. She likens their weekly negotiations to a teeter-totter, with them at each end. This analogy is accompanied by a diagram form to illustrate the difference. This is another technique Lang uses to good effect when trying to explain to the reader how she visualizes moments in her story, almost as if it were a therapy exercise.
A final unique writing technique that helps us sympathize and gain insight into what Lang is possibly feeling at any given time is her crossing out of sentences. One example is in the title chapter “Places Left Behind” where she writes “New York, I repeat. Okay. As long as we buy a house. The long, miserable, depressing year it took him to find his first job in high-tech was enough for me” (p.72) almost as if the reader is being given special access to Lang’s thoughts at a time when she was keeping them to herself so as not to rock the boat. As readers, we are her confidants; it is not up to us to pass judgment, but instead to be a friendly shoulder to lean on.
These writing elements ultimately serve Lang’s true purpose of explaining her personality and “character”—someone who experiences self-doubt, someone striving for purpose, an individual wanting to find a community they can truly belong to. By giving us a glimpse into her history, we see Jewish life as it is for so many today. As they feel drawn to Israel, people struggle to integrate with the culture or politics in the region to the extent that is expected of them as a Jew. Lang is clear about this side of her at the start of her story, but she does not let this get in the way of her participating in it, because the community is significant to her as a homeland for Jews. She ultimately teaches that purpose can be found in unlikely places, but it requires cooperation and effort to find a role you can fill with whatever you are.
