Thread of Life: My Russian Legacy

Thread of Life is a portrait of the twentieth century - its times of war and peace - seen through the lives of three generations of Jewish women. At its heart are Dora, a romantic and tragic figure, a concert pianist born in Riga, who lived in St Petersburg and was killed in the Riga Holocaust; her daughter, Genia, born in 1915 in St Petersburg, who lived in many places around the world before dying in England at the age of 102; and, in their different threads and versions of the truth, their legacy to author Jennifer Kavanagh, who shares her moments of discovery while addressing themes of Russia, Jewishness, motherhood, music, home, and language, as well as the vagaries of memory.

Jennifer Kavanagh gave up her career as a literary agent to work in the community in London’s East End. She is a speaker and prolific writer on the Spirit-led life and an Associate Tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. She lives in London, UK.