At thirty-six, Sarah Hurwitz–former head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama–attended an introduction to Judaism class on a whim and was astonished to discover thousands of years of wisdom about what it means to be human. Years later, as she wrestled with what it means to be Jewish at a time of rising antisemitism, she wondered where the beauty and depth of the Judaism she discovered as an adult had been all her life.

Seeking answers, she went back through time to find how hateful myths about Jewish power, depravity, and conspiracy have shaped not just how others think about Jews, but how Jews think about themselves. She realized that her Jewish identity was the result of thousands of years of antisemitism and two centuries of Jews erasing parts of themselves in the hope of being accepted and feeling safe.

In As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us, Hurwitz–the author of Here All Along–documents her quest to take back her Jewish id