Dear Roz: Finding the Truth about My Father in His Wartime Love Letters to My Mother - Hardcover

Leitman, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1440171165 ISBN 13: 9781440171161

Publisher: iUniverse, 2009

Synopsis

Dear Roz is documentation of the author's journey to find his father, and at the same time, to find pieces of himself which lay hidden in his collective shadows, most notably anger and fear. It records his search for the truth by reading his father's letters and speaking to him through letters of his own; letting his sorrow, fear, joy, anger and a host of other emotions flow freely from him onto paper. Since this is his search for the truth to foster his growth and healing, this was not the place to put on the proverbial rose-colored glasses and present his father, or himself, as more or less than they were.

The emotions and thoughts presented in this book, especially about his father, are his and he owns them. He has not attempted to represent how his brother Mark, or his sisters, Susan and Sally, feel or reacted to any situation that he discusses. That would be a subject for their own personal explorations. Come along on a journey that evokes the deepest feelings and thoughts a child can fathom, the discovery of a parent through his own words.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Leitman is on a quest for self-discovery and personal growth. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and worked for Mobil Chemical Company for thirty years. He lives in Wayne, New Jersey with his wife, Marlene; they have three grown children and three grandchildren.

From the Back Cover

After Dad passed away, my wife and I took up the task of completing the organization of the letters into binders. I decided to scan the letters into our home computer so they would be preserved for future generations to read. While scanning them it became necessary to read many of the pages so that they could be electronically filed in the proper sequence. In doing so I too became fascinated with their content.

Dad used to ask which one of us was going to make a book out of them. As he got older and feebler he asked more often but no one took his request seriously at the time. However, after seeing how beautifully he had written these letters and their fascinating content I decided to take him up on his request.

As I wrote this journey, and as I explored my deepest feelings and thoughts, I often felt that my work on the letters, the words I typed and the organization of subject matter was not my creation but rather the result of energy channeled from my father to me. Once I began, I was powerless to stop until I had peeked into every corner and examined every barrier that stood between us.

The emotions and thoughts presented in this book, especially about his father, are his and he owns them. He has not attempted to represent how his brother Mark, or his sisters, Susan and Sally, feel or reacted to any situation that he discusses. That would be a subject for their own personal explorations. Come along on a journey that evokes the deepest feelings and thoughts a child can fathom, the discovery of a parent through his own words.

Edition details

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1440171165
• ISBN 13: 9781440171161
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 332