Max and Benny's Restaurant, Deli and Bakery
461 Waukegan Rd
Northbrook, IL 60062
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Being the child of a Holocaust survivor can be difficult. Who could possibly understand the horrific experience? But one woman from the Chicago area, Karen Kaplan, learned a lesson in forgiveness that could be helpful for anyone living with fear, anger or resentment. Karen Kaplan, international speaker and author, shares her experience in her memoir, Descendants of Rajgrod: Learning to Forgive.
In Karen’s memoir, she tells the story of her father, Arie Kaplan, who after surviving the Holocaust in the forests of Eastern Europe, limped through the rest of his life by lying, cheating, abusing his family and never letting go of his rage. Many years later, her father is on his deathbed and Karen is an unhappy single mother who realizes that she is consumed with a similar feeling of rage. She begins keeping a journal, and in the course of writing about her father, starts to understand that she has inherited his 'survivor mentality' and is at risk of losing sight of ever being content. In sharing her story, Karen struggles to do the most challenging thing she's ever done; forgive her father, and let go of the legacy of bitterness and fear that has hovered over the Jewish community following centuries of anti-Semitism.
Make sure you register to guarantee participation for this event! Register together with friends to sit together. Please arrive early to enjoy a terrific meal before the speaker begins.