Testimonials

On behalf of the shul, I wanted to thank you so much for your time, energy, talents, and wisdom. What a blessing for our aura chadasha community! Writing was the perfect therapy that many of us needed last night. Hopefully we could have you come in person in the future.

—Dr. Dahlia Topolosky, Psychologist and Rebbetzin of Kehilat Pardes: The Rock Creek Synagogue (April 2020)

I had the pleasure of leading a group conversation with Evonne about her novel The Prophetess, her Jewish journey, and the triumph of completing a book that took 20 years to write.  The conversation included how the book addresses ancient Jewish wisdom and modern topics like male/female relationships and power dynamics. The audience was left inspired to fulfill their dreams! I would recommend Evonne as a talented Jewish educator and an inspiring speaker to teach audiences across the Jewish community and beyond. 

—Rabbanit Dasi Frucuter, South Philadelphia Shtiebel (February 2020)

The Johns Hopkins Alumni Association hosted an event with author, Evonne Marzouk, for an audience of alumni and friends of the university. Evonne’s discussion was interesting, engaging, and enlightening! She shared passages from her book, The Prophetess, after explaining the perspective of the female archetype. This was eye opening! I will never watch another super hero movie the same again! Evonne also described her writing journey, which was truly inspiring.

—Jamie Seward, Johns Hopkins University (February 2020)

We invited Evonne as our Author-in-Residence and she had several speaking opportunities over the course of Shabbat. Our Kabbalat Shabbat was enhanced with her dvar Torah that combined prayer with some more mystical concepts and introspectiveness that reflected some of the concepts touched on in her book. We had a wonderful interview style talk that delved primarily into her book themes, the Kabbalistic backstory to her prophetic approach used in the book, and the evolution of her writing journey. This interview was very appealing because it captured the broader and more universal topics of the book and writing process that even those out of the book's target audience could appreciate. We also had a special Havdalah where Evonne did a more traditional book reading and signing, giving those specifically interested in the book a venue to learn more and buy a signed copy of the book. Evonne was able to appeal to a wide range of people with her ability to speak about the more Kabbalistic elements from the background research that went into the book, the writing process, coming-of-age moments captured in the book, and the role of this kind of book in Jewish society. Evonne's visit was a great addition to our Shabbat and everyone felt enhanced by having her there.

—Jacklyn Krisch, Kehilat Pardes: The Rock Creek Synagogue (November 2019)

Evonne engaged my students with discussion questions, thought-provoking examples and material, and inspiration! She discussed topics such as 1) how symbols can convey meaning; 2) the pros and cons of first-person vs. third-person point of view; 3) the importance and power of names in literature and in Jewish culture; and 4) the theme of gifts, and how gifts manifest themselves in stories and in life. More than that, Evonne's dedication to the process of editing and revising (across a decade or more) her novel was so inspiring. It's one thing for an English teacher to encourage revision, but it's another thing altogether for students to see that Evonne's revision process led to a book deal! The students were also interested in the topic of Evonne's novel, as it focuses on an empowering yet vulnerable young prophetess, who is "growing into her gifts," a young person like our students who may also have a sensitivity to spiritual leadership and/or ambition to use their gifts to make a difference in the world.

—Hannah Saltmarsh (educator of 10th, 9th, and 12th Honors English courses), Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy (November 2019)

"The Author Talk and Q&A Session our writers group held with Evonne was by far the most valuable session of its kind we've had in 13 years.  She was terrifically engaging and very generous with her time and experiences; she candidly discussed her inspirations, her process, and shared meaningful insight into the business side of being an author.  Evonne is a skilled and thoughtful speaker who we would recommend to any group and we would have her back for our future events any time."

—Michael Klein, Founder and Lead Organizer, Arlington Writers Group (Arlington, VA, December 2019)

Evonne Marzouk provides an eloquent response to the mystical self-realization texts of authors such as Paulo Coehlo and Alejandro Jodorowsky using the archetypes of Jewish spirituality. The Prophetess is a text rich in metaphor and it successfully combines the story of a young woman coming into her power with the discovery of one’s ancestors, the importance of the past, and lineage. Marzouk has a steady hand, and her smooth and readable prose allows the narrative of Rachel (with all of its complex references to philosophy and religion) to be accessible to readers from middle grades to adulthood. The warmth of Evonne’s personality comes through the text and even more so in person. Working with her is a dream and her efforts to reach out to the community is nothing short of commendable. 

—Wesley Benchoff, Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins (December 2019)