Finding My Father: His Century-Long Journey from World War I Warsaw and My Quest to Follow
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- Create Date：2021-06-20 20:30:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Deborah Tannen
- ISBN：1101885858
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Summary
A #1 New York Times bestselling author traces her father's life from turn-of-the-century Warsaw to New York City in an intimate memoir about family， memory， and the stories we tell。
"An accomplished， clear-eyed， and affecting memoir about a man who is at once ordinary and extraordinary。"--Forward
Long before she was the acclaimed author of a groundbreaking book about women and men， praised by Oliver Sacks for having "a novelist's ear for the way people speak，" Deborah Tannen was a girl who adored her father。 Though he was often absent during her childhood， she was profoundly influenced by his gift for writing and storytelling。 As she grew up and he grew older， she spent countless hours recording conversations with her father for the account of his life she had promised him she'd write。 But when he hands Tannen journals he kept in his youth， and she discovers letters he saved from a woman he might have married instead of her mother， she is forced to rethink her assumptions about her father's life and her parents' marriage。
In this memoir， Tannen embarks on the poignant， yet perilous， quest to piece together the puzzle of her father's life。 Beginning with his astonishingly vivid memories of the Hasidic community in Warsaw， where he was born in 1908， she traces his journey: from arriving in New York City in 1920 to quitting high school at fourteen to support his mother and sister， through a vast array of jobs， including prison guard and gun-toting alcohol tax inspector， to eventually establishing the largest workers' compensation law practice in New York and running for Congress。 As Tannen comes to better understand her father's--and her own--relationship to Judaism， she uncovers aspects of his life she would never have imagined。
Finding My Father is a memoir of Eli Tannen's life and the ways in which it reflects the near century that he lived。 Even more than that， it's an unflinching account of a daughter's struggle to see her father clearly， to know him more deeply， and to find a more truthful story about her family and herself。
"An accomplished， clear-eyed， and affecting memoir about a man who is at once ordinary and extraordinary。"--Forward
Long before she was the acclaimed author of a groundbreaking book about women and men， praised by Oliver Sacks for having "a novelist's ear for the way people speak，" Deborah Tannen was a girl who adored her father。 Though he was often absent during her childhood， she was profoundly influenced by his gift for writing and storytelling。 As she grew up and he grew older， she spent countless hours recording conversations with her father for the account of his life she had promised him she'd write。 But when he hands Tannen journals he kept in his youth， and she discovers letters he saved from a woman he might have married instead of her mother， she is forced to rethink her assumptions about her father's life and her parents' marriage。
In this memoir， Tannen embarks on the poignant， yet perilous， quest to piece together the puzzle of her father's life。 Beginning with his astonishingly vivid memories of the Hasidic community in Warsaw， where he was born in 1908， she traces his journey: from arriving in New York City in 1920 to quitting high school at fourteen to support his mother and sister， through a vast array of jobs， including prison guard and gun-toting alcohol tax inspector， to eventually establishing the largest workers' compensation law practice in New York and running for Congress。 As Tannen comes to better understand her father's--and her own--relationship to Judaism， she uncovers aspects of his life she would never have imagined。
Finding My Father is a memoir of Eli Tannen's life and the ways in which it reflects the near century that he lived。 Even more than that， it's an unflinching account of a daughter's struggle to see her father clearly， to know him more deeply， and to find a more truthful story about her family and herself。
Reviews
Barbpie
，
Wonderful read that I stayed up all night to finish。
Ellen Loulou
，
Her gift with words urns family lore into an interesting book。
Esther Dushinsky
，
Very repetitive with many extraneous details。 There is no pattern and no plot line at all。 I pushed my way through this book because I wanted to know some of the fascinating details about life in Poland that were interspersed。
Barry
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Interesting personal history of a World War I survivor。
K2 -----
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As with several of her other books the first half was fabulous but I felt somehow like the second half dragged on。 It was almost as if it was another book。 It needed a better editor。 I loved the first half and would still recommend the book to anyone interested in what it was like for someone leaving Europe before WWII。 Tannen's father lived well into his 90s and documented his life thoroughly as he went along including letters and journal。 He was an active bright man。 The second half sort of dr As with several of her other books the first half was fabulous but I felt somehow like the second half dragged on。 It was almost as if it was another book。 It needed a better editor。 I loved the first half and would still recommend the book to anyone interested in what it was like for someone leaving Europe before WWII。 Tannen's father lived well into his 90s and documented his life thoroughly as he went along including letters and journal。 He was an active bright man。 The second half sort of dragged for me but perhaps other readers would be more interested than I was about her father's other love interest when he married Tannen's Mother。 I tired of her writing that her father was driven by his sex drive in his youth， seems like an odd revelation for a grown woman who has studied human behavior much of her life。I was more interested in what his family life was like， the life he made for himself with a bunch of daughters， and what she learned from her heritage。 I have been to Poland and would like to go back。 It helped me to relate more to the story and the places， it filled out some lost details that will help me upon my return。 It is interesting knowing Tannen's vocation how her early family life likely influenced her career choices and what it must have been like to plow through all her father's written work he kept through over a dozen moves through the years。 It is unlike other books I have read because this was WWI not WWII。 It is an important read for that reason， I am glad she wrote it。 。。。more
Zibby Owens
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Finding My Father is a memoir of Eli Tannen’s life。 But it's also a story about his daughter's quest to understand who he was， where he came from， and the history of her family。 The author pulls accounts from his journals， documents， notes， letters， and recorded conversations she had with him about his life， which is like a walking tour through history。 Her father lived in the Jewish community of Warsaw， Hasidic community， before， during， and after World War I。 His whole experience of work captu Finding My Father is a memoir of Eli Tannen’s life。 But it's also a story about his daughter's quest to understand who he was， where he came from， and the history of her family。 The author pulls accounts from his journals， documents， notes， letters， and recorded conversations she had with him about his life， which is like a walking tour through history。 Her father lived in the Jewish community of Warsaw， Hasidic community， before， during， and after World War I。 His whole experience of work captures one Jewish immigrant experience。This book is such a lovely biography。。。and endearing tribute。。。to the author's late father。 And I loved how he wasn't afraid to launch a whole new career so late in his life。 Even at 50， he still had half a life to go because he died at 98。 It's very encouraging and empowering to think that at any moment， we can all start following our dreams。 It's never too late。To listen to my interview with the author， go to my podcast at:https://zibbyowens。com/transcript/deb。。。 。。。more
Debbie
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A tender precious book about family and history and making decisions。
Danielle
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This is an interesting memoir written by acclaimed author Deborah Tannen about her father。 His life is truly book worthy - he was born in a Hasidic community in Warsaw， immigrated to the US speaking no English， worked as a teen in garment factories but managed to get his high school diploma and graduate law school， finally becoming a lawyer in his 50s after a long string of odd jobs and a stint as a Communist。 What I found most amazing about Eli Tannen was how he documented everything and saved This is an interesting memoir written by acclaimed author Deborah Tannen about her father。 His life is truly book worthy - he was born in a Hasidic community in Warsaw， immigrated to the US speaking no English， worked as a teen in garment factories but managed to get his high school diploma and graduate law school， finally becoming a lawyer in his 50s after a long string of odd jobs and a stint as a Communist。 What I found most amazing about Eli Tannen was how he documented everything and saved anything that gave insight into his experiences。 He clearly wanted this book to be written and I think it does him justice。 I would have rated it higher but the way Deborah crafted the story sometimes left me frustrated but overall， it's a thorough and unflinching look by a daughter at a man she revered。Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the advanced copy to review。 。。。more
Melanie
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I have a penchant for memoirs and stories passed down generation to generation， regardless of the subject matter or time in history。 I feel these are so important not only to family members， but for everyone。 If they are not told and shared， they become lost， and without personal history， we miss out on so much more than what textbooks can provide。 Deborah Tennen shares stories about her father that he shared with her， as well what she learned and discovered with the help of journals and letters I have a penchant for memoirs and stories passed down generation to generation， regardless of the subject matter or time in history。 I feel these are so important not only to family members， but for everyone。 If they are not told and shared， they become lost， and without personal history， we miss out on so much more than what textbooks can provide。 Deborah Tennen shares stories about her father that he shared with her， as well what she learned and discovered with the help of journals and letters he left behind。 The personal look into her inner struggles as she learns more about him and his life is emotional， and I feel for her。 I also admire her for sharing these personal feelings and entrance into her and her family's lives and history。 It was very interesting to read and I am glad that I had the opportunity to。 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Tannen writes an incredibly insightful book about her father。 She was fortunate to be privy to so much information。 Her father kept journals， letters， talked extensively to her and also was interviewed by a researcher who delved into even more nuances of her father's life。 The family history is endlessly fascinating。 Tannen is besotted with her father and less infatuated with her mother。 In the two chapters that deal，with her parents' marriage and the other woman， Helen， the author is quite repe Tannen writes an incredibly insightful book about her father。 She was fortunate to be privy to so much information。 Her father kept journals， letters， talked extensively to her and also was interviewed by a researcher who delved into even more nuances of her father's life。 The family history is endlessly fascinating。 Tannen is besotted with her father and less infatuated with her mother。 In the two chapters that deal，with her parents' marriage and the other woman， Helen， the author is quite repetitive in belaboring her point。 I think she drove it needlessly into the ground。 This is an excellent book on family history。 Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Kathleen
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