Feeling Lots of Love

Yesterday afternoon, I stepped into a room full of friends, colleagues, clients, and family to be interviewed by Carolyn Brody, the former owner of BookHampton, our local bookstore. The subject was my new book, Leibisch’s Journey. After a brief discussion, a Q&A ensued with a variety of questions from both readers and I-hope-soon-to-be readers. Leibisch was my father, who, as a 12-year-old, left his family in Ukraine—then part of the Russian Empire—during the upheavals of World War I and the Russian Revolution. He intended to meet up with his older brother in America, but ended up in Argentina for the next five years, before making his way to New York. The story deals not only with the physical journey but also with his emotional development from age 12 to 17. It is also the story of youthful independence, maturing to manhood in the absence of family support, and the impact of those years on who he became as a husband and father.

It was a tender evening for me, being able to relate to a wide audience my conversations with my Dad, and to be a bit introspective about my own identity in terms of some of the traits I share with him. I am fortunate to have so many friends here in the Hamptons, here back east, to share with me this ongoing journey of my life. Thanks to all.