The Altadena Historical Society presents Dr. Jemela Macer, a clinical psychologist, professor, consultant, and author of “Between Two Worlds: An Armenian-American Woman’s Journey Home” on Monday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center, at 730 E. Altadena Drive.
Dr. Macer will discuss her memoir and her experiences growing up in Altadena in the 1950s and 1960s as she searched for her Armenian roots. Her talk will focus on her familial, cultural, and spiritual quest to integrate her Armenian ancestry with her American self.
Dr. Macer is a grandchild of four Armenian genocide survivors who were silent about the past. Her parents raised their children to be Americans, but Dr. Macer sought to learn more about her Armenian roots. The result, “Between Two Worlds,” is a moving memoir describing her travels and experiences, both physical and spiritual, inspiring readers to take a closer look at their own relationships with their ancestral past.
In a series of connected essays, Dr. Macer asks: what is passed down unknowingly from one generation to the next? How does transgenerational trauma live within us? And finally, how do we forgive our perpetrators, find healing, and re-integrate lost parts of our soul, and those of our ancestors?
The book takes the reader from the author’s childhood and young adulthood in Southern California, to the streets of India, Europe, Pakistan, China, South America, and finally, in what she comes to call “The Genocide Tour,” to ancient Western Armenia.
On Amazon, “Between Two Worlds” has gained a rating of 4.8 out of 5 and customer reviews find the story beautifully written, deeply moving, riveting, sad and joyous, and educational. The book is highly recommended.
Dr. Macer’s talk, which begins at 7 p.m., is part of the Altadena Historical Society’s free quarterly history-related series that’s held at least four times a year. The series has featured speakers like historian Paul Ayers and building biographer Tim Gregory, and subjects like the Leon Ricks collection of photos showing Altadena in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Altadena Historical Society’s October program is free and open to the public. For more information, call (626) 797-8098 or visit www.altadenahistoricalsociety.org/.
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