Rabbi Mark Borovitz was a mobster, gangster, con man, gambler, thief, and drunk. He has seen it all. Now, in this inspiring memoir, he takes you on a journey from the streets to discovering his soul in a ten-by-twelve-foot prison cell.
When Mark was fourteen, his father died and his world came crashing down. Within months, he was selling stolen goods for the mob out of his high school locker, beginning a twenty-year life of crime that ran the gamut from bar hustles and con games to check-cashing scams.
Mark stole and gambled and drank, all the while trying to be the good son, the good brother, the good boy, but his life only spun more out of control until the mob put a hit out on him. From Cleveland he moved to Los Angeles, virgin territory, and amped up his hustles, schemes, and cons. Then came prison, but it only served to increase his legend, and he played every angle and then some in the prison yard.
After his release, the drinking and thieving continued unabated until, at the edge of oblivion, Mark experienced a moment of true divine intervention, a startling revelation that both saved his life and sent him back to prison, where he actually wanted to be. There he found the keys to saving his soul.
Mark Borovitz proves that you can change your life -- profoundly. He is now the rabbi at Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles, the House of Return, a rehabilitation facility for addicts of all kinds. Mark knows what these people feel and who they are because he was one of them. He is now, as he says, an advocate for the soul.
The Holy Thief is the remarkable memoir of an amazing man. It is a true-life gangster story, a passionate love story, and a case study in redemption. Regardless of your faith, you will find Mark's story tragic, funny, uplifting, and inspirational.

The Holy Thief: A Con Man's Journey from Darkness to Light

Biographies & Memoirs

Alan Eisenstock

Rabbi Mark Borovitz

Community & Culture

William Morrow

Love Thy Neighbor: A Muslim Doctor's Struggle for Home in Rural America

Ayaz Virji

Convergent Books

Hang Time: My Life in Basketball

Elgin Baylor

Mariner Books

I'm Not Gonna Lie: And Other Lies You Tell When You Turn 50 Deluxe

George Lopez

Penguin

In the spring of 2000, Robert Schimmel was riding high. He'd won the Stand-Up of the Year Award, his HBO special was a huge hit, and his sitcom had been picked up. And then it all came crashing down. Diagnosed with Stage III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, he was told he would have to undergo chemotherapy immediately. The sitcom was dumped and the fire of his white-hot career started to go out. But Schimmel never lost his sense of humor, his knife-like edge, and most of all, his passion to entertain. Indeed, it was his basic need to laugh-even if the only people around him were suffering from cancer and the room he was playing was the Mayo Clinic infusion center-that carried him through his ordeal. From his colorful banter with nurses and other patients during chemo, to his hilarious conversation with a wig salesman, going for the laugh was Robert Schimmel's survival mechanism. Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and profound, Cancer on Five Dollars a Day is an honest account of how one man's face-off with a deadly disease helped him better understand himself.

Cancer on $5 a Day* *(chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life

Robert Schimmel

Reference & Collections

Da Capo Lifelong Books

I'm Not Gonna Lie: And Other Lies You Tell When You Turn 50

Celebra

Theresa Larson was a lieutenant in the Marines when her internal struggle with bulimia nervosa cut short her military service. In Warrior, she lays bare her life by examining extremely personal and painful moments and explains how, by finally accepting the help of others, she learned to make herself whole. Theresa's journey demonstrates that good health and happiness is a daily, intentional act that requires persistence and commitment. Warrior is a story of perseverance and success of a determined woman who is a model for everyone struggling to conquer their own demons. Theresa shows that asking for help can be an act of courage, and that we are stronger than we think when faced with impossible odds.

Warrior: A Memoir

Theresa Larson

Religion & Spirituality

HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Alan Eisenstock. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Alan Eisenstock