Reading and Conversation. “Family History of Fear: A Memoir”

Every family has its own history. Many families carry a tragic past. Like the author’s mother, many Poles did not tell their children a complete story of their wartime experiences. Agata Tuszyńska was nineteen years old when her mother told her that she was Jewish—and began to tell her stories of the family’s secret past in Poland.

In "Family History of Fear," Tuszyńska investigates her past and writes of her journey to uncover her family’s history during World War II—of her mother, entering the Warsaw Ghetto at age eight, escaping just before the fateful uprising, and then living “hidden on the other side.” She writes of her relatives and their mysterious pasts, as she tries to make sense of the hatred of Jews in her country.

Agata Tuszyńska is an award winning journalist, scholar, and internationally renowned author. Her latest works include "Vera Gran" (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2010), "The Fiancée of Bruno Schulz," and "A Family History of Fear," released in English in Spring 2016 by Knopf.

A book signing will follow the reading. Books will be available for purchase at the event through Literati Bookstore.