The youngest of eight children, Stephen J. Dubner grew up in a family that was industrious, rambunctious, and above all, Catholic. His parents were true believers, their faith extending to every corner of their lives. But they were also Jewish converts. Only when he reached his twenties did Dubner discover his parents' extraordinary story, one full of bitter estrangements and deep secrets. He also felt the tug of the religion his parents had abandoned and began to pursue it as vigorously as they had pursued their adopted faith. As Dubner learned more about his parents' past, he met dozens of his Jewish relatives, traveled to his grandparents' shtetl in Poland, re-created the life of his late father, and saw his relationship with his mother curdle so thoroughly that it would fall to the then-Archbishop of New York, John Cardinal O'Connor, to help broker a peace. Choosing My Religion is a luminous, well-crafted memoir.

In turns comic and heartbreaking, it tells the story of a family torn apart by religion, sustained by faith, and reunited by the truth. Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author and journalist who lives in New York City. He is the coauthor, with Steven D. Levitt, of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. He is also the author of Choosing my Religion, Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper, and a children's book, The Boy with Two Belly Buttons. "Intense, acutely observed . enlightening.

While it is clearly better for Stephen Dubner if his turbulent soul stays quiet, I think readers of this wonderful book will rather hope that a continual measure of unsettlement inspires him to write more." -New York Times.