Karen Kirsten, author of 'Irena’s Gift' in conversation with Professor Michelle Ephraim
Monday, November 10, 20256:00 - 7:30 pm ET (US)
Hybrid In-Person and Zoom Webinar
Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Goldfarb Library, Brandeis University Campus
Refreshments provided for in-person attendees.
About the Event
A 2025 National Jewish Book Award Finalist that judges described as “reads like a thriller,” and winner of Zibby Awards for Best Family Drama & Best Story of Overcoming, Irena’s Gift explores how hidden histories can rupture families—and ultimately reshape our understanding of who we are.In 1942, in German-occupied Poland, a Jewish baby girl was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto in a backpack. That baby, Karen’s mother, Joasia, knew nothing about this extraordinary event until she was thirty-two, when a letter arrived from a stranger. She also learned that the parents who raised her were actually her aunt and uncle. Joasia kept the letter hidden from her own daughter, Karen—until an innocent question revealed the truth.
Determined to help heal her mother’s pain, Karen set out to piece together a war-torn history. From the glittering days of pre-war Poland to the little-known Radom Prison, where a Jewish woman negotiates with an SS officer to save her sister’s child, to the author’s upbringing in a Christian home, Irena’s Gift is about the secrets we keep to protect ourselves and those we love. It is also a story of resilience and bravery, revealing how love and hope, too, can not only prevail through the worst imaginable circumstances, but resonate through time.
About the Speakers
A former business executive, Karen Kirsten is an Australian-American writer and Holocaust educator who speaks on the topics of hatred and reconciliation around the world. Karen’s essay “Searching for the Nazi Who Saved My Mother’s Life” was selected by Narratively as one of their Best Ever stories and nominated for The Best American Essays. Her writing has also appeared in Salon.com, Huffington Post, The Week, The Jerusalem Post, Boston’s National Public Radio station, The Christian Post, The Sydney Morning Herald and more.
