My JBC Two Minutes Are Over
What an amazing experience last week at Hebrew Union College in New York where about fifty authors (just a portion of the over two hundred authors who attended the Jewish Book Council Network Conference) presented their two minute synopses of their recent publications! It was an eclectic group of authors ranging from novelists, to historians, scientists, memoirists, and healthy recipe mavens. I was truly inspired by many of the stories by these very erudite authors and the passion they infused into their two-minute orations.
Some of the topics discussed? Susan Weissman’s story of the trials and triumphs of a food allergy family, Andrew Tertes’ (formerly of Newington, CT) story of a man named Jacob’s journey to reconcile nature and tradition, Andrea Strongwater’s history of the lost synagogues of Europe, Ari Schonbrun’s memoir of his survival as one of the only employees of Cantor Fitzgerald to survive the World Trade Center attack, Gerald Kolpan’s fictional tale of a Jewish boy who becomes an interpreter for the great Indian Chief Standing Bear, and the courageous Ellen Schecter’s memoir of finding fierce joy despite the loss and pain of an incurable illness.
I hope the audience was enticed by my two minute presentation about my combination of love and distrust for my mother Sidonia, the one person in the world who was my family yet whose deeply held secrets created a divide between us that we could never cross. I am usually not very nervous at my speaking engagements and in discussing Sidonia’s Thread, but I must admit that I had a tinge of nerves on this occasion. Yet despite my nerves, I enjoyed this chance to share my book with representatives of over one hundred Jewish organizations from around North America and to meet other authors from various corners of the world.
Again, my thanks to Carolyn Starman Hessel, Director of the Jewish Book Council, who I had the privilege of meeting, Joyce Lit, Network Associate and my two-minute coach, Miriam Pomerantz Dauber, Program Director, who arranged the conference logistics, and to everyone at the Jewish Book Council for this great opportunity.
It is really not that different after all to move from being a public sector social worker to author. They both can be catalysts for change if their heart is in the right place.
