Through his research he recreates the Bronx of his mother’s youth, early adulthood, and young married life. He explores her home life, her Morris High School experiences, her work life and her social life. His skills as a journalist help him to place her life in historical context. He fleshes out the Jewish immigrant experience in the Bronx with the attendant tension between the immigrant parents and their American children. And he explores the social and economic impact of the Depression, World War II, and the post-war preoccupation with Communists in America. He also discusses what the cultural expectations were for a woman in his mother’s time and how those often unspoken restrictions played out in her life.
One of the most significant threads Freedman explores is the antagonistic relationship that existed between his mother and her mother which stemmed mostly from his grandmother’s insistence on the importance of living a traditional Jewish life. The author’s mother, a very bright student, spent much of her energy in rebellion. It is not surprising that the author, having delved as deeply as he could into their relationship and the circumstances surrounding it, develops a more nuanced understanding of both his mother and his grandmother.
But finally the author realizes that, despite having done a yeoman's job of recreating the past and having learned a great deal about his mother, he can never really know her completely. The fuller picture can never bring her to life, it can never completely fill the emotional gap created by her early death and his early loss.
To read an excerpt from this memoir, click here.
To read an article about the history of Jews in the Bronx, click here.
People
Author's mother's father's family
Sarah Hatkin
Samuel Hatkin – son of Sarah
Sol Hatkin – son of Sarah; married Rachel (Rose) Markiewicz
Eleanor Hatkin – daughter of Sol and Rose; married Leonard Benjamin Schulman; second marriage to David Freedman
Samuel Freedman - son of Eleanor and David; married Cynthia Sheps
Aaron and Sarah Freedman - children of Samuel and Cynthia
Fannie Hatkin – daughter of Sol and Rose; married Danny Schlomkowitz (Stevens)
Joel Schlomkowitz (Stevens) – son of Danny and Fannie
Seymour Hatkin – son of Sol and Rose; married Evelyn
Jacob Hatkin – son of Sarah; married Rachel Gartenberg, cousin of Rachel Markiewicz
David Hatkin – son of Sarah
Mildred Schlomkowitz – sister to Danny (see above)
Jack and Hilda Schulman
Leonard Schulman - son of Jack and Hilda (see above)
Alan Schulman – son of Jack and Hilda
Leonard Hatkin – cousin of Eleanor; exact relationship unclear; married Thelma
Harry Schneer – cousin of Sol Hatkin; relationship unclear
Elaine Sheps - mother of Cynthia (see above)
Author's mother's mother's family
Yehuda Ariyeh Markiewicz – father of Rachel Markiewicz
Rachel (Rose) Markiewicz – daughter of Yehuda Ariyeh; married Sol Hatkin (see above)
Ester Dina Markiewicz – daughter of Yehuda Ariyeh; married Alter David Kaczkowicz
Judis Kaczkowicz – daughter of Esther Dina and Alter David; married Jaime Prusky
Julius Kaczkowicz– son of Ester Dina and Alter David; married Rebeca Kaganas
Menuchi Markiewicz – daughter of Yehuda Ariyeh
Avram Markiewicz – son of Yehuda Ariyeh
Shifra Markiewicz – daughter of Yehuda Ariyeh
Shai Gartenberg – uncle of Rose Markiewicz – exact relationship not clear
Minnie and Morris Osder – Minnie is a cousin of Rose Markiewicz – exact relationship unclear
Rebeca and Guillermo Bronstein - relatives in Uruguay - exact relationship unclear
Dina Berlinblau - relative in Uruguay - exact relationship unclear
Pinhas Kaczkowicz – cousin of David Kaczkowicz (married to Ester Dina Markiewicz – see above)
Author's father's family
Samuel and Rose Freedman
Ziggy Freedman – son of Samuel and Rose
Clara Freedman – daughter of Samuel and Rose
David Freedman – son of Samuel and Rose; married Eleanor Hatkin Schulman (see above)
Friends and Acquaintances
Regina and Monikou Adler – sisters
Clare Abramowitz – married Hy Dickman
Leon Becker
Vicky Behar – married Dave Fried
Artie Bernfeld
Ralph Betstadt – married Lillian Golden
Miriam Beyman
Shirley Binenstock
Bruno (Bernie) Brenner – brother of Ignaz
Ignaz (Irving) Brenner – brother of Bruno; married Fannie Povodator
Florence Brodsky
Harry Ceitlin
Maxwell Cohen
Sid Cozin
Bern Dibner
Bernie Dunetz – married Anita Rosenhoch
Sandy Dunetz – child of Bernie and Anita
Stanley Feldman – brother-in-law of Herman Keltz
Jerry Ferber
Bea Flesichman
Artie Fluger
Stanley Frank
Rudy Friedlander
Lou and Murray Glass – brothers; cousins of Vicky Behar
Al Glazer
Sol and Sidney Goldfarb – brothers
Mel Goodman
Howard Gropper
Dick Gumerov
Florence Herzog
Marion Herzog – daughter of Florence; married Saul Maidens
Max Kagan
Herman David Keltz
Mildred Keltz – sister of Herman
Rose Klekman
Hy Kraft
Abe Kronenfeld
Ruth Liebowitz
Morris Laitman
Joe Lempert
Leon Mandelbaum
Ted Millon
Bernie Murowitz
Harriss Pacter
Bernard Pacter – son of Harriss
Noach Pacter – brother to Harriss; married to Fannie
Sam Pacter – son of Noach and Fannie
Ruth Pacter – daughter of Noach and Fannie; married Al Taylor
Estelle Pacter – daughter of Noach and Fannie
Simmy Plansky
Buddy Rashbaum
Neil Rosenberg
Bill Rosenhoch – sister of Anita; married Naomi Gruder
Pauline Rubenstein
Selma Rubenstein – daughter of Pauline
Hilda Saltzman Wachtenheim
George Slayton – cousin of Claire Abromowitz
Bernie Solomon
Jack Steinglass
Flo Zipkin
Places
Kolno, Poland
Bialystok, Poland
Morrisania, The Bronx, New York
Morris High School, The Bronx, New York
Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York
Montevideo, Uruguay
Stelton, New Jersey
Highland Park, New Jersey
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