BURGHARDT, Linda

PERSONAL:

Children: two daughters.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Great Neck, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Kensington Publishing Corp., 850 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER:

Journalist. Founder of Burghardt Communications.

WRITINGS:

Jewish Holiday Traditions, Citadel Press (New York, NY), 2001.

The Happy Empty Nest: Rediscovering Love and Success after Your Kids Leave Home, Citadel Press (New York, NY), 2002.

The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book: Joyful Ceremonies and Celebrations for Today's Families, Citadel Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Newsday, New York Daily News, Jewish Week, and Jewish World.

SIDELIGHTS:

Linda Burghardt has contributed to a number of national and regional periodicals, including Jewish publications such as Jewish World and Jewish Week. Her books include Jewish Holiday Traditions and The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book: Joyful Ceremonies and Celebrations for Today's Families, about those traditions specific to the celebration of the transition to adulthood of a Jewish boy or girl just entering their teens.

In the The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book Burghardt covers the subject of helping children understand their heritage. A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that the author "wisely notes the potential 'transformative power' of the bar/bat mitzvah as a doorway to self-esteem and a 'lightning rod for Jewish identity' that 'stirs up questions about basic goals as a Jewish family.'" Burghardt then provides the necessary information to plan the event and ceremony, create a timetable for study, select invitations and a caterer, decide on a theme, and document the event on film and in photographs. She handles special issues like divorced parents and non-Jewish relatives, and also discusses how the ceremony can be held in Israel. She acknowledges that many contemporary families are not observant. Booklist contributor Stephanie Zvirin felt that Burghardt's journalism background "comes through clearly in the writing; so does her commitment to making the celebration meaningful for everyone involved."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2004, Stephanie Zvirin, review of The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book: Joyful Ceremonies and Celebrations for Today's Families, p. 1332.

Library Journal, April 15, 2004, Marcia Welsh, review of The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book, p. 95.

Publishers Weekly, March 29, 2004, review of The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Book, p. 57.*