My Father, the Messiah: A Memoir
Duke University Press, 2026
Cloth: 978-1-4780-2943-4 | Paper: 978-1-4780-3291-5 | eISBN: 978-1-4780-6164-9 (standard)
Library of Congress Classification DS61.7.H63A2 2026
See other books on: 1993- | College teachers | Family relationships | Fathers and daughters | Mental illness
See other titles from Duke University Press
Cloth: 978-1-4780-2943-4 | Paper: 978-1-4780-3291-5 | eISBN: 978-1-4780-6164-9 (standard)
Library of Congress Classification DS61.7.H63A2 2026
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
In her memoir My Father, the Messiah, Gil Hochberg traces a father-daughter relationship as it transforms across decades—from intense closeness in childhood to a fraught distance as Hochberg’s father Yossi becomes increasingly convinced that he is the Messiah. After building a career as a statistician in the US, Yossi returns to Israel and becomes an avid Zionist, while having several psychotic episodes. Hochberg reconstructs her relationship with her father through an archive of letters between the two, as well as her father’s personal writings, painting a tender portrait of the non-normative family life within which Hochberg’s queer identity unfolds and a heart-rending account of her father’s mental decline. Hochberg crafts a powerful story of intimacy and loss that dovetails with sea changes in Israel’s religious and political environment since the 1990s.
See other books on: 1993- | College teachers | Family relationships | Fathers and daughters | Mental illness
See other titles from Duke University Press
