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. . . a memoir about healing, and a model for harvesting from the past, in order to plant seeds and leave a legacy for the future.
My mother died two days before the 9/11 attacks. Always an iconoclast, even in death, Jean Hymson Ballon found a way to make things more interesting than they had to be. With air travel halted, the rituals for honoring and mourning her death were upended, propelling my family into chaos, conflict, and deeper grief. Unthinkable Dreams—The Year That Mom Died and the Towers Fell is the chronicle of the drama, discoveries, and occasional delights that our family experienced in the months before and after our matriarch’s death. An important part of this journey was discovering how to listen to our dying mother speak when much of her words made little rational sense. I describe the surprising emergence of my mother’s spirituality, how my relationship with her blossomed, even as her body and mind withered, and how this connected to my own spiritual journey. As I probed this difficult time, it opened my heart and illustrated how embracing compassion can move people from separation to connection, even though the route is neither straight nor continuous. |
J. The Jewish News of Northern California article
Praise for Unthinkable Dreams
“… the reality of life immediately after the 9/11 tragedy, this book is profoundly relevant for all of us dealing with death and grief today.” REB SIMCHA RAPHAEL, author of Jewish Views of the Afterlife
“. . . many Jewish families who have dealt with death will recognize themselves in … Unthinkable Dreams, . . . non-Jews too will relate to its deeper themes of grief, family tensions, the urge to reconcile, and the power of religious ritual.” BISHOP MARK EDWARD BRENNAN, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston
“Ballon’s story sparkles with clarity, humor, and insight.” RABBI SHEFA GOLD, author of Are We There Yet? Travel as a Spiritual Practice
“It is little surprise that Jean Ballon’s departure from life would be the source of this deep and revealing tale of conflict, compassion, forgiveness, and love.” RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN, Former US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
“In Unthinkable Dreams, Yesh Ballon gives us a personal and thought-provoking eulogy . . . In the unfolding of his reflection, we come to learn the arc of his journey, from separation to connection through the window of compassion.”
RABBI RICHARD F. ADDRESS, Director, Jewish Sacred Aging
". . . very well written. On almost every page there is a crisp metaphor or a sharply worded truth that makes us sit up and notice.” RABBI JACK RIEMER, author of Finding God in Unexpected Places and The Day I Met Father Isaac in the Parking Lot
“Yesh Ballon’s book about his beloved mother touches the heart. This is a book of healing. It models compassion, forgiveness, and love. It is a treasure.”
RABBI NATHANIEL EZRAY, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Jacob, Redwood City, California
“. . . many Jewish families who have dealt with death will recognize themselves in … Unthinkable Dreams, . . . non-Jews too will relate to its deeper themes of grief, family tensions, the urge to reconcile, and the power of religious ritual.” BISHOP MARK EDWARD BRENNAN, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston
“Ballon’s story sparkles with clarity, humor, and insight.” RABBI SHEFA GOLD, author of Are We There Yet? Travel as a Spiritual Practice
“It is little surprise that Jean Ballon’s departure from life would be the source of this deep and revealing tale of conflict, compassion, forgiveness, and love.” RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN, Former US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
“In Unthinkable Dreams, Yesh Ballon gives us a personal and thought-provoking eulogy . . . In the unfolding of his reflection, we come to learn the arc of his journey, from separation to connection through the window of compassion.”
RABBI RICHARD F. ADDRESS, Director, Jewish Sacred Aging
". . . very well written. On almost every page there is a crisp metaphor or a sharply worded truth that makes us sit up and notice.” RABBI JACK RIEMER, author of Finding God in Unexpected Places and The Day I Met Father Isaac in the Parking Lot
“Yesh Ballon’s book about his beloved mother touches the heart. This is a book of healing. It models compassion, forgiveness, and love. It is a treasure.”
RABBI NATHANIEL EZRAY, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Jacob, Redwood City, California
