About this item
Imagine discovering a secret - that your family has a hidden Jewish heritage. That your grandfather died in a concentration camp and your grandmother was a death-camp survivor. How did you not know? How would it change your spiritual life? Heidi Neumark, a Lutheran pastor, happened upon records that revealed her family's loss and trauma and resulted in the shocking revelation that she was suddenly and inherently connected to the multi-ethnic, marginalized community she had been ministering to for three decades and to which she felt a deep affinity. Hidden Inheritance is a combination of compelling personal story and bold call for social justice that links the past with contemporary challenges.
About the Author
Heidi Neumark is an author, speaker and Lutheran pastor who has served congregations in the South Bronx and presently in Manhattan. Her experiences in congregational and community leadership in the Bronx led to a highly acclaimed book, Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx (Beacon Press 2003) , winner of the 2004 Wilbur Award given by the Religion Communicators Council. She has chapters and sermons in numerous other books and writes regularly for the Christian Century and other journals. In her present position, Pastor Neumark also serves as the executive director of a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth. She holds an honorary doctorate of divinity from Muhlenberg College. Heidi is married, has two adult children and lives in New York City.
She is thrilled that October 6th, 2015 is the official release date for her new book "Hidden Inheritance: Family Secrets, Memory and Faith." "Hidden Inheritance" takes the reader on a journey into an unimagined past with life-changing impact. A Lutheran pastor is shocked to uncover her Jewish roots and successive family loss and trauma through the Holocaust, and readers are invited to consider for themselves how secrets, closeted identities and silence can shape our lives. The author also grapples with anti-Judaism in the church, the role of the church in silencing trauma and reconsiders how her lifelong identification with marginalized people and work for social justice emerged from roots she never knew existed. In this memoir, personal narrative, social history, theology and Biblical reflection are seamlessly woven into a moving story that challenges readers to explore their own roots and possible buried secrets to be revealed. We see the powerful hold of the past and the possibilities for new insights and transformation when what has been hidden is brought to light.
