Amy Sohn's parents took the long way to loving her hubby.
The husband and the in-laws—they can be a combustible combination. Introducing your boyfriend to your parents and family is difficult no matter what, especially if you're Jewish and he's not and your parents don't want you marrying a goy. But interfaith marriage doesn't have to be all bad, as Amy Sohn learned. In this excerpt from her book Altared, Amy shares her personal account of finding the one and then trying to sell him to her parents.
For Amy Sohn, saying yes was easy. Getting her parents' approval was the hard part.
My boyfriend during my freshman year of Brown was a 6'5'' black guy from Philly who played power forward on the basketball team. One of the main reasons I was drawn to him was that I knew my parents wouldn’t approve. They are what you might call liberal conservatives: They’re NPR-listening, cultured, Democratic-voting Jews, but my mom doesn’t like women with visible bra straps, and my dad doesn’t feel comfortable around black men.
It didn’t work out with the basketball player and by the time I graduated I was still single. I moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with some roommates, and at night I barhopped with a girlfriend who had guys falling left and right for her because she smoked and knew how to appear disinterested. I threw myself at every 120-pound drummer who gave me a second glance.
