About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Rosner is a bestselling novelist, poet, and essayist living in Berkeley, California. Both of her parents were Holocaust survivors and she has carried their stories from the day she was born. Some stories she was told and others she learned through the silences that threaded their way through her childhood. She began writing about her family history at a young age through poetry and fiction and now explores the topics of inherited trauma and epigenetics through nonfiction. Her book, Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, which is highlighted in this episode is inspired by her family history and shows how our sensitivities can save us and how we are all connected through very intrinsic human experiences. The book was chosen as a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Contemporary Jewish Life & Practice. In addition, her essays have appeared in the NY Times Magazine, Elle, Hadassah Magazine, the Huffington Post, and numerous anthologies. She frequently writes book reviews for the San Francisco Chronicle. Having taught writing for over 30 years, she travels widely to lead intensive writing workshops, to lecture on contemporary literature, and to visit with book groups.

Elizabeth & Rachael recorded this conversation for The Memory Generation on October 10, 2022. Elizabeth was at her home in Berkeley, California and Rachael was in Portland, Maine.