Bestselling Author Lauren Grodstein presents We Must Not Think of Ourselves

EVENT OVERVIEW: NY Times Bestselling Author, Lauren Grodstein, will discuss her book, We Must Not Think of Ourselves, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 7:00 PM at the Unity Temple on the Plaza.

ABOUT THE BOOK: We Must Not Think of Ourselves

Inspired by a little-known piece of history—the underground group that kept an archive to ensure that the lives of Jewish occupants of the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II were not lost to history—this is a heart-wrenching novel of love and defiance that People calls "gripping, emotional, and against all odds, hopeful."
On a November day in 1940, Adam Paskow becomes a prisoner in the Warsaw Ghetto, where the Jews of the city are cut off from their former lives and held captive by Nazi guards to await an uncertain fate. Weeks later, he is approached by a mysterious figure with a surprising request: Would he join a secret group of archivists working to preserve the truth of what is happening inside these walls?
Adam agrees and begins taking testimonies from his students, friends, and neighbors. He learns about their childhoods and their daydreams, their passions and their fears, their desperate strategies for safety and survival. The stories form a portrait of endurance in a world where no choices are good ones. One of the people Adam interviews is his flatmate Sala Wiskoff, who is stoic, determined, and funny—and married with two children. Over the months of their confinement, in the presence of her family, Adam and Sala fall in love. As they desperately carve out intimacy, their relationship feels both impossible and vital, their connection keeping them alive. But when Adam discovers a possible escape from the Ghetto, he is faced with an unbearable choice: whom can he save, and at what cost ? Inspired by the testimony-gathering project with the code name Oneg Shabbat, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Grodstein draws readers into the lives of people living on the edge. Told with immediacy and heart, We Must Not Think of Ourselves is a piercing story of love, determination, and sacrifice.

REVIEWS:

"This book is a masterpiece: profound, gripping, urgent, and beautiful. In its clear-eyed and devastating portrait of the past, Grodstein invites us into the present; to bear witness to the lives that have come before us, while finding meaning and courage for our own." ―Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles

“In We Must Not Think of Ourselves, Lauren Grodstein writes with such a blazing commitment to the truth of the Warsaw Ghetto that sometimes I had to stop reading and catch my breath. But in the midst of the brutality, she clears a path for the parallel stories of love and decency. Make no mistake: this is a heartbreaking portrait of a dark moment. But this novel shimmers with light.” ―Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me

"We Must Not Think of Ourselves is one of those rare books—beautifully written, seamlessly constructed, quietly devastating—that manages to tell an old story in a new way with no pyrotechnics beyond perfect storytelling, including an ending that will stay with me always. It is far and away my favorite novel of the year, of many years, and I know I will be recommending it to readers forevermore."―Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of One Two Three

"Grodstein expertly weaves the tale of this lonely storyteller, his students and the families he lives with into the true history of the Oneg Shabbat project. Gripping, emotional, and, against all odds, hopeful."―People

“Lauren Grodstein’s masterpiece… an extraordinary work of historical fiction.”―Associated Press

"[A] gripping historical novel."―Washington Post

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lauren Grodstein is the author ofOur Short History, The Washington PostBook of the YearThe Explanation for Everything, and theNew York Times-bestsellingA Friend of the Family, among other works. Her stories, essays, and articles have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies, and have been translated into French, German, Chinese, and Italian, among other languages. Her work has also appeared inElle,The New York Times, Refinery29, Salon.com, Barrelhouse, Post Road, andThe Washington Post. She is a professor of English at Rutgers University-Camden, where she teaches in the MFA program in creative writing.

EVENT DATE & TIME: Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at 7:00 PM

EVENT LOCATION: Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W 47th St, Kansas City MO 66112

ADMISSION PACKAGE: $24.00 (plus Eventbrite Ticket Fee) includes 1 copy of We Must Not Think of Ourselves, 1 Admission Reservation, and 1 Guest Admission Reservation. General Admission Seating.

Patrons will have their books signed after the event.

DISCLAIMER: All author event sales are final and non-refundable. Eventbrite ticket fees are non-refundable.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary, 707 W 47th Street, Kansas City, United States