'The Forgetting River: A Modern Tale of Survival, Identity and the Inquisition'
Book presentation by Doreen Carvajal
Despite growing up Catholic in the Bay Area and having vivid childhood memories of Sunday sermons, catechism, and the rosary, Doreen Carvajal never felt the familial connection with Catholicism. She then learned in adulthood that her family may be descended from conversos, Jews who were forced to renounce their faith and convert to Christianity.
Carvajal’s search for answers about her family’s secret past led her to move to Arcos de la Frontera, a historic city on the southern frontier of Andalusia. Her new memoir, The Forgetting River, records her research (which ranged from DNA Testing to studying Inquisition-era documents now housed at UC Berkeley) and the impact of this quest on her identity.
Doreen Carvajal is a Paris-based reporter for The New York Times and a senior writer for The International Herald Tribune with more than 25 years of journalism experience. She grew up in Lafayette, California and was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and San Jose State University.
- Literature
- San Francisco
- Nov 13, 2012
- 07:00 pm
Venue
BJE Jewish Community Library, 1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94118
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415-567-3327
More information
Credits
Sponsored by The Jewish Community Library and co-presented by the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, and the Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco.