A Book Title and a Label that Will Get You Cancelled: White, Blonde, Jew.

Alyssa Rosenheck was one of the only Jewish kids in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when a classmate stood up in class, pointed at her, and said, "The Jew took it." She pushed the girl down. Her dad's response: "My daughter has my permission to deck anyone who offends her family or faith."

That courage runs hrough everything that followed: a tennis scholarship, a decade in corporate medical sales, a thyroid cancer diagnosis that scared her into finally living, a camera she picked up to heal, and a divorce that hinged on one line from her husband she "can't unhear." After October 7th, Alyssa lost a book deal, got labeled part of a literary boycott, and co-founded Artists Against Antisemitism instead of going quiet. Her new book, White Blonde Jew, is what she wrote instead.

In this episode:

(02:00) Growing up one of the only Jews in Tulsa — and the classmate who pointed at her and said, "The Jew took it"

(08:55) Chasing financial security after an unstable, alcoholic childhood — tennis scholarship to 3M to spine sales

(11:15) The thyroid cancer scare that became her first real "life pivot"

(13:33) Picking up a camera as therapy — and building a 14-year photography career from it

(15:55) Her advice for anyone raised by an alcoholic parent

(18:15) The marriage, and the line from her husband she "can't unhear": "He did not want to have Jewish children"

(22:43) The New Southern — accidentally writing the most inclusive design book in the industry

(24:45) Her 2021 "light bulb moment" on Israel, BDS, and October 7th

(27:00) Losing a book deal 10 days into speaking out — and co-founding Artists Against Antisemitism