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Our authors find it very rewarding to present to all kinds of audiences whether in-person or through ZOOM. On January 22, Ruth Wade, Eszter Gombosi and Fran Berg began their ZOOM conversation with the Philadelphia 'Sons & Daughters of Holocaust Survivors' group by each sharing a major gift and challenge that related to their life experience as a second-generation. David Lee Preston, a 2G and retired journalist from the Philadelphia Enquirer, remarked that their 2G group, which was founded in 1979 in Philadelphia, felt re-energized by reading and discussing the powerful chapters by these authors. On January 23, Ava Adler and Joy Ensor shared their stories in-person to 14 people whom a neighbor had invited to her home for this purpose. And on January 24, over 25 2Gs from the UK, some of whom were contributing authors to their own second-generation book, zoomed in to listen to stories shared by Joy Wolfe Ensor, Ruth Taubman and Cilla Thomas. We are grateful to David Clarke of the UK 2G Network for facilitating this connection. Contact us to schedule a time for our authors to visit with you.
Our authors delighted in presenting our book to our neighbor city across the border. Each author on our panel felt a unique connection to Windsor. Rita Benn is a native born Canadian raised in Montreal; Ava Adler's survivor mother had emigrated first to Windsor before moving to Detroit; and Natalie Iglewicz grew up in a very Jewish suburb outside of Detroit, Oak Park. These authors were very impressed by the engagement of the audience, the depth of their questions and their particular interest regarding the impact of current issues on the Second Generation. "Given our parents' horrific history, what are we feeling about the rise of Anti-Semitism? Do we think that our children are impacted in the same way as we are? In what ways do we imagine our parents would react to some of the trends occurring amongst the Jewish population, such as the increased rate of intermarriage that seems to be more prevalent amongst children of holocaust survivors?" The authors were grateful to have the opportunity to reflect on these broader issues. The audience similarly expressed their appreciation in hearing our their stories and perspectives.  On January 8th, Ruth Finkel Wade presented to the general public, including Holocaust survivors and their grown children, at the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC). In the audience sat Holocaust survivor Sidney Finkel, Ruth’s father. He proudly watched his daughter speak about his hardships growing up during the Holocaust and its impact later on him and their relationship. The TJMHC docent and descendant of survivors Evie Varady commented during the Q&A that the writers of our book wove the stories of their parents seamlessly into their own lived experience. Ruth’s father who had published his own memoir and presents widely about his experience remarked that he never thought there would be interest in the Second Generation’s perspective. Sidney was more than glad to be proved wrong: the audience of close to sixty was the biggest turnout he had ever seen for a TJMHC program.
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