Tell Me I Belong: A Journey Across Faiths and Generations

Writer and physician Weill (All That Really Matters) discusses finding his religion in this solid memoir. Weill grew up in New Orleans as the son of a secular Jewish father who survived the Holocaust and a Southern Baptist mother. At nine years old, he was asked by his parents whether he wanted to continue going to temple; he declined, opening the door for the family’s maid to take him and his siblings to church each week instead. After marrying a devout Catholic but remaining unaffiliated himself, Weill dove headlong into his career as a transplant surgeon until he was sidelined by chronic pain and the death of his father. A subsequent trip to Israel and the discovery that his mother had briefly converted to Judaism after meeting his father sparked Weill’s interest in finding out more about his Semitic roots. After traveling to Berlin with his daughter to see his family’s former homes and conducting a somber visit to the Buchenwald concentration camp, Weill ends his search with a conclusive declaration of his Jewishness. The author’s desire to find his tribe is moving and relatable, but his prose can be dry, and the pacing is sometimes slack. Still, readers who have wrestled with their faith will find value in Weill’s soul-searching. Photos. (Dec.)