Author's Biography |
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Harriet Rossetto is a rebel spirit. She is a self-professed misfit who felt she was operating her life on the fringe. It is there that she found her fierce calling: helping broken souls and changing a broken system.
Harriet received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Minnesota in 1964. A social worker with a strong Jewish identity, Harriet answered what would be a life- altering classified ad in the Los Angeles Times looking for "a person of a Jewish background to help incarcerated Jewish offenders." Harriet soon recognized that most of the Jews in jail committed crimes as a by-product of what she's coined the "dis-ease" of addiction. Frustrated by the lack of resources, she embraced the unpopular cause, fighting the widespread denial that "nice Jewish men and women" could be addicts and criminals in need of rehabilitation. A woman of passion, vision, and action, this fight took on the form of Beit T'Shuvah: The House of Return. With Harriet as its guiding spirit for over 25 years, Beit T'Shuvah has remained true to its original mission. She has become something of a "Relationship Guru", nurturing budding and fragile sober relationships that have in many cases turned into marriages and full-blown families. For Harriet, the greatest reward is witnessing and participating in the miracle of transformation. A mission with a beating heart, her living message is that everyone is capable of redemption, which is why she empowers the residents of Beit T'Shuvah with employment, hiring 90% of her staff from within. Today they are the lifeblood of the organization. Harriet is now a much sought-after speaker in synagogues and community groups as well as a trainer for the National Association of Social Workers, teaching classes about the treatment and philosophy of the "dis-ease" of addiction. Harriet's latest noteworthy project is her upcoming book Sacred Housekeeping, A Spiritual Memoir. A woman unafraid of risk and ridicule in her quest for doing 'the next right thing,' she has lived long enough to see the world just beginning to catch up with her. |
Sacred Housekeeping - A Spiritual Memoir |
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An honest autobiography of a courageous woman and social
worker, who took an interest in the unpopular cause of
helping incarcerated Jewish men re-enter society and made it
her life's passion. From that passion was born Beit T'Shuvah,
a once tiny halfway house that has grown exponentially into a
renowned treatment organization. Her voyage is remarkable and an
inspiration to all people. This is the personal story of the obstacles
she surmounted and the successes she encountered. This book
also tells the unconventional love story of Harriet Rossetto and her
husband, Rabbi Mark Borovitz. |
Listen to What People are Saying |
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