The Intermarriage Handbook

this is the only book of the 5 that i have read which provided candid advice about the possible ups and downs of creating an interfaith family. admirably, it goes to decent length explaining the psychological development of children and the role religion and G-d plays in that development. then the book explains inter- and mono-faith family options through the lens of child development. thus, i gained a perspective on the pros & cons of interfaith issues from a tangible perspective which only this book has provided. this is not to say the authors have written a formal paper on early childhood development. rather, they have applied a useful and practical lens to issues which are broadly addressed from moral or anecdote-based perspectives.

I recently borrowed this book out from my local library, and I loved it. Now I am going to buy this book and reccomend it to anyone who is in a Intermarriage, or is seriously considering marriage. It helped me to see things about the two faiths that would not have come up otherwise.

I think that I have read all the books on intermarriage that have appeared in the past decade or so. The Intermarriage Handbook is by far the best. It is well written, nondoctrinaire, full of useful information and resources, and extremely practical and realistic in its approach. The authors' general point of view appears to be that intermarriage cannot be wished away. It is a reality. Therefore the most important thing is to enable interfaith couples who are contemplating marriage or who are married to think through the issues they will be or are facing, to see the variety of possible solutions, and to make decisions that are realitistic and reflect their own spiritual values. Relatives of interfaith must also be enabled to go through a similar process. This is an empowering book. Petsonk and Remsen do not try to coerce their readers into a particular set of decisions. They try to provide information, tools, and resources to help their readers make their intelligent and spiritually satisfying choices. Part of what is useful and interesting about the book is the richness of description of the actual experiences of interfaith couples and their families. The authors claim to have interviewed hundreds of couples and the book reflects that research. I understand that this book is widely used by rabbis and ministers who counsel interfaith couples and also as a resources for conversion classes. Although I have no first hand experience, it seems to me likely to be well suited to that purpose, as well as for individual reading. I especially liked the authors' emphasis on the ethnic and cultural differences that intermarried couples face, as well as religious differences.