“Uncovering Hidden Truths: Caroline Topperman Reveals the Secrets Behind ‘Your Roots Cast a Shadow'”
MDH: Much of the memoir circles around questions of identity. Ultimately, the reader concludes that this memoir, despite the big cast of characters, is about you. I’m fascinated with the idea that knowing one’s family history leads to greater self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Would you agree?
CT: Yes. It has changed who I am one hundred percent. The changes came from expected places (writing the book) and from realizations about different members of my family after diving into their histories. When we moved to Poland a new government came in, and they were basically owned by the Catholic Church. They started going back to traditional family values, and I began going to protests every week. I remember one protest clearly: I was standing outside the national TV station in Warsaw because the government was clamping down on the information that the station was allowed to broadcast, and they were about to take it over. I remember standing there and getting this gut feeling that my grandfather, my mother’s father, would be proud that I was there. Proud that I was standing there just like when he was so much against all of the same things (he had an underground press). And so yes, it solidified what I wanted to fight for.
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