Tessie and Pearlie

the long version

In Tessie and Pearlie: A Granddaughter's story, journalist Joy Horowitz undertakes what turns out to be the most inspiring assignment of her life - spending time alone with her two Jewish grandmothers, Tessie and Pearlie, who are in their nineties. They are her heroes and her guides into old age. She chronicles their past and present and learns a little Yiddish along the way, keeping the continuum alive by offering a beautifully written celebration of family, passion, and Jewish cooking. Tessie and Pearlie are very different but remarkably similar. Tessie strictly observes Jewish ritual; Pearlie believes that religion resides in the heart. Like the matriarchs of the Old Testament, they have become nearly invisible to the outside world. But as keepers of the family legacy, they maintain their power through longevity. And Joy discovers that their lives are proof that sometimes there are men around and sometimes not, but life goes on either way. From the beauty parlor to the conga line, from latkes frying in the kitchen to a trip back to Ellis Island, Tessie and Pearlie teach us about living. And dying. Still close to their immigrant past and hardened by wars and the Depression and discrimination against Jews that began to dissipate only in the 1950s, they are the last of a breed - a generation passing but not likely to be forgotten. Here, two bubbes share their wisdom, knowledge, and recipes to die for. And their granddaughter asks questions of them others wouldn't dare mention, about sex, love, and motherhood.