About the Book

Nathaniel Popkin's Partly Strong, Partly Broken is a contemporary American novel exploring how political divisions fracture a community. Set in a suburban New Jersey interfaith neighborhood in the fall of 2023, the story follows Rabbi Adinah, a deeply committed and inclusivity-minded leader. Returning from a summer in Haifa, she finds her synagogue physically damaged by a hurricane and her community increasingly strained.

As global events unfold—the aftermath of Hamas' attack on Israel and the devastation in Gaza—tensions within her congregation intensify. A new conservative member disrupts discussions, disagreements over Israel challenge her authority, and relationships across faiths begin to erode. At the same time, a young Syrian refugee she mentors lies in a coma after a hate crime, further testing the fragile bonds she has worked to build.

As Rabbi Adinah struggles to hold her community together, her beliefs and closest relationships are tested. The novel confronts urgent questions that have long divided families and communities: what it means to be a Jew in America today, how to reconcile the suffering in Gaza with Israel's promise of refuge, and how individuals respond when core religious, personal, and political values come into conflict. Through a kaleidoscope of characters, the novel examines identity, faith, and moral conflict, capturing the emotional complexity of a divided America without offering easy answers.

About the Author