Chai on Life: Connection and Collaboration with a Surprise Cousin
My grandmother, lower right corner, as a little girl with family.
My grandmother Anna was barely 20 years old when she boarded a ship with her toddler son, Morris, to emigrate to America. Her husband, Harry (Gershon, in Hebrew), had been in the country for over a year, painting houses and tailoring clothes, sending money home for passage for his wife and child.
Anna made it to Ellis Island - how she did it, with a small child in tow, is something I can only imagine - and then to the St. Louis area, where my uncle Joe and mother Edith were born years later. Another American immigrant story. Motel and Tzeitel from Fiddler, come to life. That’s how I imagine the early 20’s of my maternal grandparents’ lives.
Somehow, Anna and Harry moved to New York, leaving many of Anna’s family behind in the midwest. Anna was one of eight children, and though I have memories with my seven first cousins from uncles Joe and Morrie, I know very little about the St. Louis branch of the family, some of whom are now in Cincinnati.
So you can imagine my surprise when one of those cousins sent me an email, which led to a zoom chat, and then to a collaboration that makes we want to hop on a plane and meet all these second cousins I barely know.
Lorie Kleiner Eckert is the granddaughter of Anna's big brother by 4 years, Samuel. She was born the same year as I was, and we have never met. Like me, she is a devoted mother and grandmother, author, and speaker. We have a lot in common, including our roots, and a similar sense of humor.
My grandma’s family, resettled in America
There is a Yiddish word, bashert, (pronounced buh-SHAR’t), often applied to love soulmates, but also used to signify “meant to be.” It’s a concept that implies that some outcomes are predestined, though personal effort is still required. Chatting with Lorie felt like that - bashert - and made me wish for the big messy family reunions that might have been, had we lived closer.
Then Lorie asked me to narrate her new audiobook, Chai on Life: Unpacking Everyday Wisdom: Stories of Vulnerability, Strength, and the Human Heart. In doing so, I got to know her through her beautiful essays. To quote Kirkus reviews, it’s "An optimistic, useful guide to embracing and improving the everyday. Lorie Kleiner Eckert balances personal stories with tried-and-true advice in essays that read like conversational blog posts. Her vulnerability about her struggles and her celebration of small wins may inspire readers to make changes in their lives and count their blessings…. good-natured encouragement with helpful mantras and motivational insights that uplift and inspire."
As an author myself, using story as a way to entertain and also maybe make a point (Happier Made Simple book, and my new solo show Cracks and All: A Perfectly Imperfect Life), I can appreciate and relate to the love of human connection both Lorie and I share through storytelling.
Chai on Life - now available as an audiobook!
And, there’s the fact that I recently discovered that my paternal family tree has no DNA in common (that’s a story for another time). So -what a wonderful surprise to discover more family in the maternal tree. I hope someday my new cousin and I get to meet in person.
Life is full of new discoveries, including renewed family connection.
Meanwhile - the book and audiobook are available now, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
