When glamorous Regina inexplicably ends her own life, her ten-year-old grand-daughter Diana is devasted by the loss and haunted by questions she never got to ask her grandmother. Three decades later, Diana discovers her grandmother's journal which gives Diana a window into the unknown events of Regina's tumultuous life, including surviving World War I, the heartbreak of being orphaned, and the pandemonium of events during her immigrations from Poland to Vienna to Paris and finally to the United States.Diana draws strength from her grandmother's example, which sustains her when she receives some of her own shattering news. To share her personal story, Diana must first tell Regina's. The end result is a unique braided narrative, with excerpts of Regina's diary interwoven with Diana's own life experiences, creating a touching portrait between granddaughter and grandmother, their past and present, loves and losses, and the discovery of their shared legacy.
Since childhood, she has been fascinated with the written word. As an only child of working parents, she spent lots of time alone, which she filled with reading and writing in her journal. These hobbies set the platform for her life's passion as a poet, memoirist and essayist. She teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and in various conferences and festivals around the country. She frequently writes and lectures on the healing powers of writing.
Her award-winning poetry and memoirs have appeared widely in journals and anthologies. Her self-help memoir, HEALING WITH WORDS was released in June 2010. Her memoir REGINA'S CLOSET: FINDING MY GRANDMOTHER'S SECRET JOURNAL won the 2009 Mom's Choice Award for Adult Nonfiction and the 2008 Indie Excellence Award for Memoir.
She's the compiler and editor of WRITERS AND THEIR NOTEBOOKS a collection of essays written by esteemed writers who about their journal-keeping habits and how they use their journals as a source of inspiration. The book won the Eric Hoffer Award for University Presses (2011). The foreword is written by Phillip Lopate.
She has three poetry collections, DEAR ANAIS: MY LIFE IN POEMS FOR YOU, FOR YOU, winner of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Award For Poetry, MY MUSE UNDRESSES ME, and THE GUILT GENE.
For more information, please visit her website: http://www.dianaraab.com and blog www.dianaraab/blog.
