CONNECTING IN PITTSBURGH

My Air Canada direct flight to Pittsburgh on April 23rd was smooth and uneventful. I had to wait only five minutes for the bus between the airport and Carnegie-Mellon University where one of my hosts, Joel Merenstein, was waiting to pick me up. The weekend began with Nancy Merenstein’s delicious Friday night dinner followed by friendly conversation.

The rain on Saturday did not spoil lunch at the Casbah Restaurant with Emil and Barbara Trellis. They have been among my strongest supporters since I shared an early manuscript of The Unveiling with them. They continue to go out of their way to bring the book to the attention of potential readers and reviewers.

Saturday night dinner was with close cousins at the home of Cyma and Jerry Dolan. My past visits with these cousins have always been special as we share memories of past joyful events and catch up on more recent activities. This get-together was remarkably different in a positive way.

During the last few months the cousins had read The Unveiling, and they say it gave them new insights into my mother’s courage. They wanted to know more about my father’s illness and felt comfortable asking about him. We all agreed that in the past people in the family did not talk about him or his mental illness. I felt lifted to another level of liberation as I shared more details with these cousins I care for so much.

Sunday brought a big surprise when I got the email from Lisa, my daughter, telling me she was flying to Pittsburgh to help celebrate the 100th birthday of my Uncle Jack Rubin, my father’s only surviving brother. Lisa and I were both delighted to see him looking well and able to share happy greetings with everyone. Being together with Uncle Jack, my cousins and their kids and grandkids and others who are close to the family was uplifting. (That's Jeff, Larry, Kenny Rubin and me in the photo.) My conversation with a distant cousin, whom I met for the first time, led to some information about my father that I had never heard before.

I made one last connection on Sunday night. Marlene Rebb, sister of Ann Stone, an old friend from Peabody High school, invited me to dinner along with Shirley Katz, who had been the Executive Director of the Foreward-Shady Apartments when my mother lived there. Shirley was enthusiastic about The Unveiling, and liked the idea that she actually inspired a character in one scene in the book. Not only did she remember the occasion, but she also recalled what she had said. Shirley and Marlene both promised to help spread the word about The Unveiling among their Pittsburgh network. The dinner was a delight, and the memories of my mother shared by Shirley put the finishing touches on a memorable weekend.

Why Did You Write This As Fiction and Not a Family Memoir?

When I meet with people who are interested in discussing The Unveiling with me, one of the most frequent questions raised is “Why did you decide to make this a historical novel rather than a memoir?”

Let me explain why I decided to write it as fiction.

From the beginning, my plan was to build this story around my mother’s life – to portray her family background, the early hardships of her childhood, her dreams and accomplishments, and her valiant efforts as a single mother enduring the stigma of a mentally ill husband.

The first time I interviewed my mother, she enthusiastically provided many hours of taped interviews. I was surprised at how many personal experiences she shared, although in a few instances, I convinced her to tell me things only by reassuring her that the book would be fiction and all names would be changed.

My mother’s memories of the sights and sounds of the pogroms her family suffered through always impressed young family members who became her audience through the years. Although she didn’t remember the historical sequence of some of the events, she gave me enough detail to allow me to draw upon historical research to confirm the information she provided and to use my imagination to fill in possible scenarios, consistent with factual records of the same time periods.

After interviewing my mother, I decided to speak with other relatives to strengthen the story that was emerging. Each interviewee added an important dimension, but they didn’t always remember things in a consistent way. And they all left some gaps in the story.

Writing the book as fiction allowed me to enhance some of the memories. It also enabled me to include dialogue that might have taken place as I tried to capture the voices of  the people and the humor in their Yiddish phrases.

I never intended this book to be a genealogical study of our family. I know some of my relatives have done such studies and have more information than I do about the genealogy. Because my mother had so many relatives, I had to leave some out who were not central to her story. I had to combine other characters, including many who were dear friends to my mother. I even imagined a few characters who could have played a significant role in the action. For me the important thing is that the book celebrates my mother’s courage and my family’s resilience…and those features are not fictional.

READERS CONTINUE TO COMMENT

The past months have been very gratifying as I continue to hear from people who have recently completed reading The Unveiling. I appreciate hearing from family and friends who want to share their reactions. Sometimes people see me and tell me in person. The following comments have been emailed.

"Dear Leah Rae,
A colleague of mine…gave me your book "The Unveiling" for Chanukkah last year. I read the book in a week and was quite taken with it…it was a treat for me to be able to read your work. The premise of your book is inspiring and I related to it very well. My mother's family suffers greatly from mental illness…I myself battled through two post-partum depressions. Now many years after those depressions I feel like a mixture of all of the siblings in your story, at times striving to understand, trying to raise awareness and battling an illness. I am the "town crier" in my family shouting, "let's call these illnesses for what they are, an illness, and get the help necessary"…

When the array of mental illnesses come into play, as they are now that my grandmother is dying of breast cancer, I hold tightly to the mental image of David standing on the podium, strong and proud, ready to get to work on making a difference for those with mental illnesses. I thank you for that image, and more importantly, I thank you for your book. I pray that it will help others who are compelled to deal with mental illnesses and that it helps bring about understanding in those who have not yet had to deal with mental illness. b'Shalom"

Techiya Loewen

Guelph, Ontario

"I was impressed by the history that she wove into the book along with her treatment of the issue of mental illness. I was touched and inspired by it."
Rabbi J. Schwartz, Temple Emanu-el

Atlanta, Georgia

"I have fallen in love with the characters in this book. What lives our ancestors had! I regret not discovering my own family's history. This book introduced me to a part of history I did not know about. Thank you, Leah."

Laura Cooper,

Toronto, Ontario

"Leah, I enjoyed your book immensely. The scenes of the devastation of [eastern] Europe were very effective, I thought, conveying the misery of the situation and the courage of the people. And the issue of mental illness, especially the changing (thank goodness) attitudes to it, was well dealt with. Thank you - it must have been a daunting work to undertake!"

Christie Bentham

Toronto, Ontario

Review Sparks Discussion about Mental Illness

A letter to the editor of Pittsburgh’s Jewish Chronicle by Dr. Emil Trellis one week after the review appeared takes issue with the reviewer’s description of Morton and explains how Morton’s mental illness, undiagnosed at the time, was the reason for the behavior.  Following is the letter from Dr. Trellis to Pittsburgh's Jewish Chronicle:

Mental illness overlooked

Your March 25 review of “The Unveiling” is much appreciated. Your comments about the struggles of a Jewish family in pre-World War I Ukraine along with the adjustment difficulties after arriving in America should certainly stimulate potential readers. Likewise, Ettie’s mothering success, for practical purposes as a single mother, is well noted.

It is from a retired psychiatrist’s perspective that I feel that there was too little emphasis of Morton’s mental illness and its devastating influence on the family. I didn’t feel that he was so much an “unreliable born loser” but rather his consistent self-defeating behavior, depicted rather early after his appearance in the novel, was more an early manifestation of his paranoid schizophrenia.

Subsequently his emotional deterioration with his ultimate lifelong confinement to Mayview resulted in much family hardship including profound shame, particularly on the part of Ettie and David. Ettie lived life posing as a widow. David, after learning he had a father who was mentally ill, shared in the shame and also supported strongly the family “secret.” It was through the shiva, initially opposed by Ettie, that she and David were able to resolve this psychic pain.

It is my opinion that there is still much lack of understanding and stigma regarding serious mental illness in our society today. The term “schizophrenia” is lightly frequently used to depict a situation with diametrically opposite views. This undercuts the severity of the illness. The individual patient and the involved family deeply suffer. Sadly, there is often no significant cure. I feel that with appropriate counseling, at least the stigma, as well as other issues, could be better resolved by all. Conceivably, this might be of interest and benefit to some readers.

Dr. Emil Trellis
Squirrel Hill

Positive Review in Pittsburgh’s Jewish Chronicle

How appropriate that the first review of The Unveiling by the print media appeared in Pittsburgh’s Jewish Chronicle! It has heightened interest both in the book and in the issue of how mental illness affects families. Thanks to all the readers who contacted me after seeing the review.  Following is a reprint of the review:.

‘Unveiling’ a real look at the lives of Jewish immigrants

by Lee Chottiner, Executive Editor

“The Unveiling,” by Leah Rae Lambert, is a deceptively interesting novel.

For the first 50 pages or so, the reader gets the impression that the most interesting aspect of this book is its references to local places. Lambert, formerly of Pittsburgh, incorporates actual streets, stores, institutions and neighborhoods from Pittsburgh into her story of an extended family sitting shiva for their estranged, deeply disturbed father and grandfather, Morton Burin.

The characters go to dances at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, they shop in the Strip District and set up a business in nearby Vandergrift. Lambert even mentions The Chronicle, as the paper where Burin’s funeral announcement appears.

The book initially feels like another locally set novel, Thomas Bell’s “Out of This Furnace,” which tells the story of an immigrant family’s life in Braddock and was a popular read for many Mon Valley Jews.

But “The Unveiling” is more than a trip down memory lane. While we see the family gathering around their mother and grandmother — Ettie Burin — to recount the family story as the shiva draws on, we gain a sobering understanding of the personal lives of newcomers to America, and how the immigrant experience took its toll.

We learn how Ettie’s father, Yitzhac, after being attacked by bandits near his home village of Skvira, Ukraine, prior to World War I, leaves for America planning to work, save and send for his wife, Sarah, and their three children.

Eight years pass before their reunion. During that time, Sarah and the kids survive the Russian Revolution, the civil war that followed and numerous pogroms.

When reunited in America, Sarah and Yitzhac are not the same people. They are disappointed with one another, their relationship forever altered by the long separation.

The story picks up with Ettie’s marriage to Morton, an unreliable born loser who can be violent at times. Ettie stays with him only because she fears the humiliation of divorce. Morton frequently disappears for days, even weeks at a time. Finally we learn he has a mental illness, is hospitalized, and will never be well. The family goes on public assistance. All of this happens with World War II as the backdrop, and news of the Holocaust slowly coming out.

To be sure, “The Unveiling” is not a happy story, but it’s a hopeful story. Ettie’s kids are successful, well adjusted and reasonably happy. Most importantly, they use the shiva to come to terms with their family history. They don’t run from their story, they embrace it, constantly urging Ettie to tell all she remembers about her difficult life.

One gets the feeling they’re learning from her, symbolically standing on her shoulders to reach for something better. And isn’t that what the immigrant experience is all about?

Island Memories

ISLAND MEMORIES

It hasn’t been easy adjusting to the cold weather in Toronto after three weeks on beautiful Marco Island, Florida where I combined a lovely beach holiday with two speaking events about The Unveiling. Marco Island is one of the loveliest Florida spots I’ve visited with its large beach, uncluttered streets and parks, mild weather and laid back atmosphere.

Part of the time we stayed in the home of my cousin, Carol Swartz, and her partner, David Malakoff to look after their dog, Lucky, while they were on a cruise. The new dog park a few blocks from their home was well designed and an amusing meeting spot for dog-owners as well as dogs. Lucky, a labrapoodle, did not play much with the other dogs. Her joy came from gathering all of the tennis balls she could find, bringing them to one spot and protecting them from the other dogs.

We spent the last week of our stay in a beachside condominium overlooking the Gulf. Waking up to the sound of the ocean was a special treat.

Carol hosted a luncheon and “meet-the-author” event at her home for her Newcomers’ group. Twelve people attended and most had already read The Unveiling. Their response was warm and encouraging, especially because several shared other stories they knew of families who had kept mental illness a secret. At the end, several women embraced me, and one invited Ray and me to a dinner at her home that weekend. The friendly and informal dinner added to our wonderful island memories.

The second event was a sisterhood luncheon at the Marco Island Jewish Temple. Again, several people had already read the book – thanks to Carol’s helpful marketing before I arrived. I was impressed by the intensity of the discussion as people shared stories from their lives. At the end, I even sold several more books.

We are looking forward to a return to the Marco Island area next winter and hope it will be for a longer stay. I’m also hoping I can schedule some similar events where I can present The Unveiling and encourage dialogue about the experiences I wrote about.

The Unveiling of The Unveiling

Now that my debut novel, The Unveiling, has been published, I want to share my experiences as an author. Although the book is fiction, real people and events were my inspiration.

During my childhood in Pittsburgh, it was always my hope to write about the stories I heard from family members about how they escaped the oppression of czarist Russia. In-depth interviews with a number of family members and extensive historical research provided important background material.

The story is about the power of family secrets and the liberating quality of unveiling the truth. It follows the dreams, fears and accomplishments of a Jewish woman and her family, portraying not only their struggle to escape the hardships of shtetl life in eastern Europe, but also their escape from the stigma of mental illness.