A personal story from Maria - Leader Board feedback

This is an email I got from Maria Kacandes-Kamil
who has sent in this interesting piece in response to my request for feedback from The Leader Board newsletter. Perhaps many of you would be interested in the book. Thanks Maria.

Clive,
I enjoy reading the Leader Board.  Thank you
especially for making it manageable--the short reads are just enough
to make me more conscious of how I behave and whether that is aligned
with how I want to behave. 
 
Since you mentioned
memory, let me share with you my (little) sister's new book and a
free event your readers are welcome to join.  As you read,
please remember I am neither a PR person nor someone from the book
industry, so I'm doing the best I can to pot it up sensibly because I
think there are a few things here that other readers may find really
helpful   (I know I did, although I am positively
prejudiced because of my relationship to the aurthor) 
 
The
Greeks were on to something when they talked about the revenge
of the gods revisiting subsequent generations until the price of
forgiveness was paid. Traumatic events like war, political
conflict, abuse, rape or incest affect not just those directly
involved, but also the following generations whether the events are
spoken about (i.e., known) or not.  Choosing to tell and how the
stories are told are shaped by the recipients'  gender, culture,
birth order and age.  Furthermore what individuals think they
remember  can be and usually is tranformed by the subsequent
experiences and information.  Whether survivors choose to
share or not, their families develop independent 'memories' of the
trauma suffered.  Uncovering the stories of trauma and
co-witnessing with the survivor are very powerful ways of breaking
the generational legacy of war/trauma.  I have met
many people who are 'stuck in somebody else's trauma' and the friends
who have read drafts or early copies of this book have all found it
extremely helpful to see how the pattern can be changed or broken. 
The book uses 9 stories about our father's wartime experiences to
demonstrate.  The epilogue shares concrete suggestions from the
author's experience of writing this book on how readers can pursue
their own family stories to resolve trauma transmitted by the
survivor for themselves and for their family members. 
 
This
is not a "self-help" book.  It is more the hugely
personal story of how my sister, in middle age, came to piece the
stories together into a 'generational brain scan'.  Applying her
full professional skills as professor of narratology and expert in
trauma studies, the personal journey she travels expiates 60 years of
guilt for my father, enables her to forgive him and move on in her
own life.  How cool is that!
Best regards,
Maria
Kacandes-Kamil 
 
 
 
Book
reading and author signing:  June 9 from 18:30-21:30  Daunt
Books 158-164 Fulham Road SW10 9PR (cross street is Callow St). 
Prof. Irene Kacandes (biography at
www.dartmouth.edu/~german/faculty/kacandes.html
) professor of comparative literature and Chair of the department at
Dartmouth University (NH/USA) reads from her latest book:

"Daddy’s
War: Family Memory, and Trauma.  A Para-memoir.” 
Dedicated to “children of all times and places trapped in
Somebody’s War” the author hopes her book will inspire the
children and families of people touched by trauma to gather and work
through their own family stories.