This is one part of my family’s immigration story. Each of my mother’s grandparents, had a different experience. This month we’ll continue to follow Lena Matlin and her siblings from Ukraine to America.
Finding their records was not easy because they changed their names at various points along the way. The Matlins didn’t change their surname, so that part was easy. But Libe became Libby or Lena, Lieb became Louis, Zalman became Simon, and Berl became Benjamin or Bennie.
Starting with my great grandmother, Libe/Libby/Lena, I slowly discovered other family members who started with her in Ukraine and ended up in four different places in North America.
To be continued…. what about Lena’s husband, my great grandfather? My mother never even heard his name. How was I going to find him?
What a breathtakingly beautiful way to tell a story of such great importance. Since Projectkin's very start, I've been talking about how important it is to get your stories told, no matter the form. Here you are demonstrating the compelling power of a form that is so natural and intuitive for you. It is beautiful on so many levels, from structure and story to execution. Bravo, Donna! 👏
And thank you for the tip, Lisa!
Very good way telling family stories. Fantastic sketches and paintings! As a Chinese, I just know May flower ship story Of Anglo-Saxons from the textbook. Your family story is unfamiliar to Chinese, just like Chinese story is not familiar to westerners. I write my story as the only daughter born in 1990s family copper mine.
you will follow the journey of an only daughter born in the 1990s’China. It is a story of a girl who fought her way out of a landlocked county through the grueling national exam system to build a life in China’s biggest city Shanghai.
Through my personal narrative as a 33-year-old Chinese woman and through the stories of my family, teachers, classmates, and friends, you will gain a window into the reality of Chinese society and the state of our education system. This is a chronicle of what has truly happened in China over the past few decades. By the time you finish my story, you won’t just know about China; you will have a comprehensive understanding of its soul.