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My Day of Listening

A few days before Thanksgiving, I wrote about my plans to participate in the National Day of Listening, a project of Storycorps to turn "Black Friday" into a day for listening instead of shopping.  I wrote:

As I was reading about this project, I was upset that I missed the opportunity to interview my grandmother before she passed away in February of this year.  She is on my mind because this will be our first Thanksgiving without her, and because we will be holding her unveiling over the weekend.  But after talking with my colleagues at JWA, I realized that I could still participate in the National Day of Listening and honor her memory.

I will be bringing my video camera to Thanksgiving dinner and the unveiling in order to capture stories and memories of my grandma, Frances R. Schaffer. (Not too many protests from the family so far.)  Hopefully, I will turn the footage into something I can share with you after the holiday.

The following video is the result of my day of listening.  It shows my mother going through some artifacts belonging to my grandmother, as well as an illustrated book I made for her as a kid on her 75th birthday.

Did you participate in the National Day of Listening?  I would love to hear about your experience.

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How to cite this page

Berkenwald, Leah. "My Day of Listening." 8 December 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on June 21, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/blog/my-national-day-of-listening>.