There Was Night and There Was Morning Audiobook By Sara Sherbill cover art

There Was Night and There Was Morning

A Memoir of Trauma and Redemption

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There Was Night and There Was Morning

By: Sara Sherbill
Narrated by: Sara Sherbill
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About this listen

A searing memoir about growing up in a fiercely loving, abusive rabbinical family in which the author's father, the charismatic head of a splinter Orthodox religious community, demands unswerving loyalty—and a commitment to guarding terrible secrets.

Sara Sherbill was raised by a father who was both a representative of God and a broken man harboring an intricate set of secrets. Her riveting story explores what happens when a daughter is tasked with keeping those secrets, and the cost of keeping them. It asks: How do we live with suffering? What does it mean to heal? In the face of unspeakable harm, what can be reclaimed? Sherbill's tale, written with grace and brutal honesty, reveals her struggle to reclaim her identity as a daughter, woman, and now mother. Most of all, it's a story about learning to live alongside our traumas without letting them consume us—what some might call redemption.

©2024 Sara Sherbill (P)2024 Tantor Women Memoir Emotionally Gripping

Critic reviews

"A poetic story about one woman's search for redemption of faith and family after abuse." ---Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
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really powerful story. it was narrated by the author so I was captivated. I felt sadness for this family that was so brave and made their father look normal. he was not and they all suffered. the author lays out her story so beautifully, circling back to aforementioned details. there is no self pity but rather courage, understanding and going forward with amazing grace.

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My vantage is minimal as the niece of Sara’s mother’s best friend. Having a glimpse made my heart break even more for the Sherbill family. I’m left with questions about how to be a better mother, child, and friend. Understanding we all have endured more than is ever spoken or known.

The immense impact to many aspects of Sara’s life including her relationship to Judaism was well documented and made understood by her father’s actions.
This is as insightful, thought provoking, and as wise as it is heartbreaking, sad, gut-wrenching, and enlightening. I’m left with a lot to think about from my own experiences.

Read it or listen as I did. I just finished and my emotions are high.

The struggle between a father being an elevated religious man and an abuser and navigating religion.

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Listening to the author’s voice reading her story that she’d written in her own voice was a deeply satisfying experience. I will be reflecting on it for some time.

Profoundly moving and multi-layered

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Beautifully written and narrated! I appreciated every moment shared so honestly. I could empathize on many different levels

Detail

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A raw and real story. I commend Sara for writing it and sharing it with the world.

Heartbreaking and powerful

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