Hi and welcome. This page is a self-absorbed page all about me. Brief biography follows.

I was born in London to an English born mother and a Polish born father, and remained an only child. Was educated at Hasmonean schools and Gateshead seminary, following which I trained as a secretary and journalist. I worked as a journalist for the Jewish Review until my marriage to Joseph Pearlman in July 1967.

I am a woman of many interests. Mother of 7 adult children, all now happily married, We have five daughters and two sons. we had a third son, Uri, our second born child, who died tragically in January 1996,(our daughter-in-law Leora remarried in early March 1998 and is now living in Lakewood NJ USA).

I am, believe it or not, a great-grandmother three times over! Our eldest granddaughter Leah Zucker has three children, six month old Yudit, two and a half year old Sasha Chaya, and almost four year old Tuli, short for Naftoli. The middle one was called after my mother Sasha Chaya, which totally overwhelmed me as I never dreamed a granddaughter of ours would name a baby after my mother. There are now four babies named for her, so I hope she is enjoying the "naches" (Jewish pride) up in heaven. I am also a grandmother of 31 and one of my daughters in law is expecting in the winter. Before you think I must be really REALLY ancient, I just turned 61 this May. Well...I guess that IS really ancient!

I help run a very small web-provider company, and I run antenatal (Prenatal) classes through the National Childbirth Trust, for whom I am also a breastfeeding counsellor. I teach short courses lasting just over a week these days. I prefer it to the previous 8 week courses. I also teach a lot of breastfeeding sessions separate to the antenatal courses.

I have in recent years gone back to my first love; writing fiction (read more here!). I am a published novelist of fifteen years ago and have recently written 3 crime thrillers called "Dark Tapestry" "The Movement" and "Carers Ltd."

My most recent novel is not a crime thriller, but a novel on the powerful topic of Jewish teenagers at risk. It's called "Against the Wall". It can be ordered through Targum, my publishers, or Feldheim, the distributors.

This book is on general release everywhere now and from feedback, seems to have really made a mark. However, due to my latest obsession, dieting and fitness (see below) I have been totally incapable of writing another novel, at least for the time being. As Targum don't seem to want a diet book from me (and to be honest I don't blame them as I am no expert) I am waiting awhile before writing another book.

I am also an observant Jewess, as you will no doubt tell if you surf my site. Any questions about Judaism or Jewish practice, click on the Jewish FAQ menu above and choose which aspect you wish to explore. Feel free to email me with any other queries; my email address is below.

I am an only daughter of a gentle English lady and a fiery Polish refugee. To read more about my father's incredible escape story from the Nazis click here

A few years ago I lost a lot of weight. The final total, achieved by December 2004, was 6 stone (88lbs about 38kg). It was a long hard struggle and continues to be so, as keeping the weight down is far harder than losing it in the first place. A year and a bit later I have put a little of the weight back, but no way am I ever going back to the old, fat me I was before August 2003. If you are interested in my progress, look at this collage of photos of me, fat, getting slimmer, and slim. If you pass your mouse over each picture in the collage, explanatory text will appear.

What exercise do I do? In November 2007 I took delivery of a treadmill which has pride of place in "Granny's room" (also our Sukkah) the room where my late mother spent her final years. The reason I invested in a treadmill is because I know myself too well, and in the cold dark wet winter months I do NOT walk everywhere despite having built up a reputation of doing so; it's just too miserable outside. Probably the reason I put back some of the weight I lost is because I spent most of the winter coddled at home, not out pounding the streets. I can now "pound the streets" in the warm, light and dry, so maybe I will get some of this annoying weight off again! My personal trainer Gail has given it her seal of approval and it is now incorporated into our 3 times a week workouts along with the usual weight training with the Russian Kettlebells, bar weights, and cardio stuff such as step aerobics .

My email address is ruthie@ruthiepearlman.com