December 13, 2018: Literary Sala Readings

Literary Sala Presents Two Stories of History and Survival

By Carole Schor

The Literary Sala is pleased to present two distinguished and acclaimed authors talking about very different periods of history.

Elizabeth Rosner

We are honored that Liz Rosner, a perennial Literary Sala favorite, is returning to the Sala to present her current book. Her presentations are beautiful and memorable. Her 2017 book, Survivor Café, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. It was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and in the New York Times and was named one of the best books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. Don’t miss her spirited talk at the Literary Sala this Thursday.

Survivor Café, in addition to being a fascinating memoir of her experience as the daughter of Holocaust survivors including her emotional account of visiting Buchenwald with her father, who was imprisoned there while a teenager, addresses the controversial issue of intergenerational trauma. Are traumatic experiences passed on to subsequent generations through DNA?

For a preview of Elizabeth Rosner’s work, here are some links:

• Elizabeth speaks with Kelly McEvers on “All Things Considered”
• Rave review in the San Francisco Chronicle
• Elizabeth is interviewed at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco

Mamie Spiegel

Mamie Spiegel has written her second book about the Mexican Revolution of 1810, San Miguel de Allende: Colonial Society and the War of Independence. She says there is new material in this latest book, especially regarding what happened on the day Ignacio Allende seized the town of San Miguel on September 16th, 1810.

In her presentation, Mamie will enlighten us about the surprising aspects of daily life in colonial Mexico. She says, “You will wake up in the house of the richest man in Mexico, a miner named Pedro Romero Terreros. You will get dressed, eat breakfast, take a journey outside, and learn many details about life in Mexico in the 1800s, some of them shocking. Like how dirty everything was, outside of the house. Like the enormous weight poor people regularly bore on their backs. I’ll save other stunning revelations for the talk.” Mamie is an exceptionally fine storyteller, as many will know from the fascinating historic walking tours she gives for Patronato Pro Niños.