Nancy King
  • Home
  • About
  • Stories
    • Breaking the Silence
    • All Books
    • Monthly Stories
    • World Tales
  • Workshops
  • Weavings
  • Press
  • Contact

JULY 2021: Three Generations—My Family Story

7/31/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
All my grandparents emigrated from what was then known as Russia in the early 1900’s. None of them wanted to come to the United States. Forced to flee from pogroms, anti-Semitism, discrimination, the Tsar’s army, (which meant 25 years of conscription for Jews) and political tyranny, they came to a country that did not welcome them. My grandfathers were not vocationally prepared to earn a living. My grandmothers’ talents could not overcome the obstacles of gender, language, prejudice, education, opportunity, and financial instability.

After writing my memoir, Breaking the Silence, published in 2020 by Terra Nova Press, I thought about the traumas my grandparents experienced and the difficulties of my life with my parents. I wondered what, if anything, had been passed on, intergenerationally, to me. As I wrote what I knew about my grandparents and parents, I discovered patterns that hadn’t been obvious before. 

What do you know about your ancestors? How do you know what you know? Did you think to ask them about their lives while they were still living? Do their lives matter to you? What, if any, influence does their experience have on you?
2 Comments
judith fein link
7/4/2021 06:58:54 pm

It is very important to write about ancestors, and especially grandparents. we stand on their shoulders. thank you.

Reply
Christine link
7/15/2021 03:56:50 pm

Ancestors' stories intrigue me. Most of my Italian ancestors' stories were oppressed or omitted by default, owing to their immigrant status and wanting to become "Americanized". I do not have much knowledge regardless of how many ways I've tried to inquire and listen. My 90-year old mother recently told me she was discriminated against, ostracized and shamed by her peers for being Italian and "different".

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Monthly Stories

    Life tales from a woman different living in The City Different.


      Subscribe to Nancy's Newsletter

    Submit

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020

    Categories

    All
    Press

    RSS Feed

Copyright © Nancy King 2020  |  Site Design by Angulo Marketing & Design

Contact Nancy
Home
About
Breaking the Silence
​
All Books
Monthly Stories
​
World Tales
​
Workshops
Weavings
Nancy King is a widely published author and a professor emerita at the University of Delaware, where she has taught theater, drama, playwriting, creative writing, and multidisciplinary studies with an emphasis on world literature. She has published seven previous works of nonfiction and five novels. Her new memoir, Breaking the Silence, explores the power of stories in healing from trauma and abuse. Her career has emphasized the use of her own experience in being silenced to encourage students to find their voices and to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with authenticity, as a way to add meaning to their lives.

    Sign Up for Updates from Nancy

Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Home
  • About
  • Stories
    • Breaking the Silence
    • All Books
    • Monthly Stories
    • World Tales
  • Workshops
  • Weavings
  • Press
  • Contact