The Spoon from Minkowitz: A Bittersweet Roots Journey to Ancestral Lands (with Discussion Guide)

Award-winning international travel writer Judith Fein has the burning passion and unquenchable curiosity to dive beneath the surface and push past all obstacles to find the truth. In this case, the truth is the shrouded story about where she came from, what the Old World was like, and what remains of the places so many of our ancestors left behind when they came to America. With heart and humor, she takes us along with her as she treks through graveyards, has a private audience with the Gypsy Baron of Moldova, meets the last Jew standing, communes with the dead, quaffs cognac with Russians, wanders among ruins, and hears the call of the ancestors, driving her on.Ultimately, it is our story too, as we the experience the legacy of what was handed down to us in our families, relationships, beliefs, fears and longings. Cracking the mystery of who we are, why we love, and where we came from can be the greatest mystery of all.Book Discussion Guide included.

Judith Fein was born with a pen in her mouth. She's been publishing since the age of 6. Judith lived in Europe and North Africa for 9 years, where she wrote plays and ran a theatre company. She was a successful Hollywood screenwriter, playwright and speaker, and, for the past decade, she has been an award-winning travel journalist and editor whose work has appeared in more than 100 international publications. She gives inspirational talks; leads workshops about how to travel more deeply, creativity, storytelling, and presentational skills; makes films; teaches travel writing (with her husband Paul Ross, who teaches travel photography), and occasionally takes people on exotic trips with her; Judith is the editor and co-founder of YourLifeisaTrip.com, an award-garnering group travel blog with 125 contributors. Her website is GlobalAdventure.us and it lists all her outlets and blogs. Judith is a travel addict, and her blogs and articles are full of the humor and cultural discoveries that are her trademark. Her new book, THE SPOON FROM MINKOWITZ: A Bittersweet Roots Journey to Ancestral Lands, has a publication date of January 5, 2014. Her book LIFE IS A TRIP: The Transformative Magic of Travel, has been translated and published in Korea and Lithuania.