School Assembly on Holocaust

For the first time in my uncle’s life, he recounted his Holocaust stories publicly this past week. Every year for the past 24 years at my daughter’s school, there is an Upper School assembly for Holocaust Survivors to share their stories. After a discussion with a faculty member of the school on my father’s family’s history, a call was placed in early March, inviting my uncle to speak to the school. Even with such short notice, Dr. Wlodek Proskurowski (my uncle), at the age of 87, decided it was time for him to speak so flew from Los Angeles (where he lives) to NYC. And what a memorable event, it was!

 

My uncle is in incredible health – and at the age of 87 is very physically and mentally active. He hikes every week with the Sierra Club, and is very involved with the Plato Club of LA.

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Brene Brown

Brene Brown is all over the place right now; podcasts, netflix specials, books, and even billboards. And there is a reason why. She is wise, relatable, informative, honest, and real. Known as a researcher and story teller, she is a self help guru that anyone and everyone can learn from. I watched her ultra famous Ted Talk (one of the top 5 Ted talks of all time — over 40 million views!) years ago, and find myself re-wathching it every year to relearn all that she has to share. She has spent years researching shame and vulnerability and shares it in an honest and approachable manner. And her most recent talk, a netflix special on courage (“The Call To Courage“), shame, joy, and human connection is amazing.   I found myself crying, laughing, and wanting immediately to REWATCH it all over again. It is that good.

 

Watch it now. Although, if you haven’t yet watched her 20 minute Ted Talk on Shame, that is where you should start. THENNNNNNN, you should watch this hour plus talk on Netflix. It is new (came out on April 19th — a couple weeks ago).

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