As a Jew

Sarah Hurwitz served as a White House speechwriter from 2009 to 2017, first as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. She was the chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign. Hurwitz is the author of Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life—in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There), which was a finalist for two National Jewish Book Awards and the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. She has been featured throughout the media, from profiles in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Guardian to appearances on the Today show, Morning Joe, and NPR. The Forward has twice named her one of 50 Jews who has impacted American life. Hurwitz is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and was a 2017 Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard.

"Beautifully written and brilliantly argued, As a Jew is that rare book that defines an historical moment. The American Jewish awakening is upon us, and Sarah Hurwitz is its prophet." — Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, author of New York Times bestseller Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor"A love letter to a religious and cultural inheritance, written without apology but with humility and care." — Kirkus Reviews“This is the most important book I’ve read this year, and it’s not even close. Sarah Hurwitz writes with warmth, wisdom, and wit, and she answers questions I’ve been asking all my life.”  — Susan Cain, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Quiet and Bittersweet and host of The Quiet Life on Substack“If you want to understand the situation American Jews find themselves in right now—not just the bewildering hatred, but the many internal and external forces preventing us from understanding it—stop whatever you’re doing and read this book.” — Dara Horn, author of People Love Dead Jews“Once again Sarah Hurwitz offers readers a moving and challenging insight into what it means to be a Jew today. Written with brutal honesty, it makes one laugh, cry, and, most importantly, think.”  — Deborah E. Lipstadt, ambassador (ret.), Distinguished University Professor, Emory University, and author of Antisemitism: Here and Now“The way that Sarah Hurwitz thinks and writes about Judaism provides a kinetic roadmap to the reclamation of the Judaism we should want, eschewing the flimsy stuff in favor of a more textured identity worth examining and embracing.” — Alex Edelman, Emmy and Tony Award–winning comedian and writer“[Hurwitz] has given our generation of Jews a psychological and spiritual toolkit to reclaim our narrative…. this may be among the one of the more important Jewish books of our time…. I closed the final page feeling renewed, stronger, clearer, and more hopeful. Not only as a Jew, but as a person who believes in the healing power of owning, and proudly telling, the story that is truly our own.” — San Diego Jewish World“Sarah Hurwitz brilliantly combines the very Jewish qualities of honest self-examination, wry humor, and deep historical scholarship to deconstruct the careless, toxic melding of antisemitism and anti-Zionism.” — David Axelrod, author of New York Times bestseller Believer and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama“This book explains antisemitism and the danger it poses—not just to Jews, but to all of us. It also reveals the breathtaking history and resilience of the Jewish people and the beauty of Jewish tradition.” — Van Jones, CNN Host and New York Times bestselling author“Please read this extraordinarily significant book in which Sarah Hurwitz takes an unflinching look at how antisemitism has affected Jewish identity; reminds us that while antisemites start with Jews, they never end with Jews; and offers a way forward for the Jewish future.” — Joseph Telushkin, author of Jewish Literacy and coauthor, with Dennis Prager, of Why the Jews? the Reason for Antisemitism, the Most Accurate Predictor of Human Evil