Ruth Gonchar Brennan, former city resident who served in the mayoral administration of Lenny Paoletta, has authored Gathering Family: A Memoir that starts with her grandmother’s courageous journey across eastern Europe. Check out details of the book that includes life in Bridgeport and an upcoming book signing at the cool R J Julia in Madison.
Madison, Conn. – November 4, 2011 – Dr. Ruth Gonchar Brennan, author of the book Gathering Family: A Memoir, will read from and sign her new book at R J Julia, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 06443, 203-245-3959, on Friday, November 4, from 7:00 pm. Wine and refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
Gathering Family: A Memoir is a wonderful work of creative nonfiction. Spanning a century and a half, through stories, diaries and pictures, Gathering Family is an immigrant’s true story, beginning with Ruth’s grandmother Sarah’s amazing turn-of-the-century journey across Eastern Europe, her courage, cleverness and single-mindedness, and how three generations of remarkable women and the men they loved prospered in America. Set first in Eastern Europe and then in the Jewish world of New York’s Lower East Side and Ridgewood, Queens, it contrasts Sarah with her mother’s generation and with her children’s. “I’ve set the story of my grandparents against the events of the time … the massive emigration from the Russian Pale to America at the turn of the 20th century, lives of struggle and prosperity on the Lower East Side, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Lindbergh’s flight to Paris, Depression, Socialism and War.” The personal lives of Sarah and Benjamin are iconic–“their struggles are your grandparents’ struggles, their children’s heartbreaks your heartbreaks.” Throughout the memoir, Ruth gives the readers a glimpse of her life and her children’s, and how the values set so long ago remain strong and current today.
Born and brought up in New York City, Dr. Ruth Brennan is a human resource management and communications consultant. Dr. Brennan is the widow of Judge Daniel E. Brennan, Jr. and has two children: Danna and Benjamin.
After moving to Connecticut, Dr. Brennan joined the administration of Mayor Leonard Paoletta in Bridgeport, CT as Director of Human Resources Development. When the Paoletta administration ended, Dr. Brennan became Director of the Executive MBA Program at the University of New Haven. She joined BIC Corporation as Director of Human Resources and for the last 16 years has been a human resource consultant to numerous international, national and Connecticut companies. Dr. Brennan served as Board President of the Bridgeport, Connecticut P. T. Barnum Festival. She has taught at Fairfield University (Graduate School of Corporate and Political Communication), U. of New Haven (Executive MBA) and Sacred Heart U (MBA).
Little Red Tree Publishing, founded in 2005 by Michael Linnard and Tamara Martin, is a small independent publisher based in New London with a straightforward guiding principle to publish stylish, high quality books that, “delight, entertain and educate.” They publish books that combine an interest and love of quality books with elements of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, music, art, design, history, photography and children’s stories. The company logo reflects that philosophy in the symbolism of a red tree growing out of an open book, indicative of a book as the seed for growth. Information contained within a book, Little Red Tree asserts, is innately capable of developing and enhancing the knowledge of the person who owns or reads it.
