'Letters to My Father', A Book Talk by Kathleen A. Balgley

Kathleen Balgley will be discussing her book “Letters to My Father”. The book is a fascinating memoir about the journey of discovering her Jewish heritage when she learns that her father has a hidden Polish Jewish identity. She travels to her father’s birthplace and learns about the stories of her ancestors. During the determined trip through her family history, she wrote letters to her father and the amazing outcome was that her father joined her on her travels across the world.

Kathleen Balgley completed a PhD in Literature from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and was also a Fulbright Scholar. Balgley has had an extensive academic career, including being a lecturer at the UCLA Writing Program, Associate Director of Writing at UCSD Sixth College, and later tenured Associate Professor of English at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She is married to John David Ratajkowski, a multidisciplinary artist who has had his work exhibited across Ireland in Dublin, Galway, and Cork. Balgley and Ratajkowski are also the proud parents of successful actress and model Emily Ratajkowski. After authoring her memoir Letters to My Father, Balgley is now planning her next book along with her husband about life in their home in West Cork, Ireland.

For more information visit: yiddishlandcalifornia.org

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