Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 1:00 pm
"My Grandmother's Suitcase"
A talk with slides by Jim Van Buskirk
Peninsula Jewish Community Center
800 Foster City Blvd.
Foster City, California

At the age of 54, Jim Van Buskirk, who had been raised "devoutly Unitarian" but had a mysterious lifelong attraction to Judaism, was told by his mother that "You are Jewish." She gave him a suitcase filled with photographs, letters, and documents. Examining the contents of his grandmother's suitcase started him on a search for answers to his family's history --and his own identity. The uncovered family saga stretched over 120 years and three continents. This audio-visual presentation is adapted from his memoir-in-progress.