Mar 16, 2021 By: lberlinger
On Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at and Crisis & Hope: YU Voices co-hosted a conversation between Dr. Joanne Jacobson, professor emerita of English, former associate dean for academic affairs and former director of the Honors Program, and playwright and poet Barbara Blatner, lecturer in the 麻豆区 College Department of English, about Dr. Jacobson鈥檚 Every Last Breath.
Subtitled A Memoir of Two Illnesses, the book recounts the stories of two life-threatening maladies, her mother鈥檚 and her own, discussions of mortality and the exploration of the family dynamics at the heart of the entwined narratives.
Dr. Jacobson read selections and discussed the writing process before taking part in a question-and-answer session with the well-attended audience. 鈥淧rof. Jacobson鈥檚 reading and discussion was deeply moving,鈥 said David Tanner 鈥22YC. 鈥淚t highlighted the fragility of life but also its beauty.鈥
Dr. Eliezer Schnall, director of the Honors Program, remarked that discussion of the interdisciplinary themes found in Every Last Breath are 鈥渁t home in the Honors Luncheon speaker series.鈥 Dr. Ronnie Perelis, a co-founder of Crisis & Hope, among his many roles at the University, noted that 鈥渘uanced, thoughtful and eye-opening dialogue is at the heart of the Crisis and Hope: YU Voices project,鈥 said Dr. Perelis. 鈥淚t was a pleasure to work with Dr. Schnall and the YC Honors Program in hosting this event.鈥
