The Basics:
Lives in: Johnston
Spouse/Partner: Spouse Bob, married for 26 years
Children: 2, both young adults
Pets: Paisley (Scottish Terrier)
Education: BA in Sociology, Minor in Women’s Studies, from UCLA
Paying Job: Marketing
Where did you grow up? Budapest, Hungary. I am old enough to say I was raised in a socialist country and witnessed the Berlin Wall come down in 1989. Literally. I was in Berlin when people were taking hammers, chisels, and picks while I was visiting Berlin in November 1989. I moved to the US (California initially) in my early 20s and to Iowa about 13 years ago.
What do you like to read? I enjoy historical fiction, memoirs, dystopian fiction, a good mystery, and classics. I am not a huge fan of fantasy, although I did like the Harry Potter series.
What is your favorite banned book? The more banned books I read, the harder it is to pick a favorite. For a long time, I used to point to The Kite Runner when I was asked this question. This book has a special place in my heart because I lived in the Middle East as a young teenager, so I am somewhat familiar with the culture. I am also emotionally attached to The Catcher in the Rye because it was the first American novel I read as a teenager in Hungray that portrayed the all-so-familiar teenage angst in a setting that was so very foreign and desirable to a young persion living in Eastern Europe. I later read this book in an English course in college in the U.S. and it was so interesting to experience the original text years after I had read a translated version.
Why do you do this work? As someone growing up under an oppressive regime where freedom of speech was something well out of our reach, I found that concept unbelievably liberating when I moved to the United States decades ago. The erosion of that liberty is unsettling to me – both becuase it is irreconcilable with foundational American principles and because it reminds me of the very oppression I wanted to get away from when I left my native Hungary.
What else would you like readers to know? I am empathetic and kind, but I am also very stubborn. Which means, I am not going to stop this work anytime soon.
We’ll introduce board member Abby in October!
