Retired Library of Congress librarian Julianne Mangin was a reluctant genealogist — at first. But after acquiring her ailing mother’s genealogy files, something drew her into the family history. Maybe it was years of listening to her mother’s cryptic stories of her childhood which featured a delicatessen, a state hospital, a county home for neglected children, and a father who disappeared. Even though Grandpa divorced her mother and never got her out of the county home, Mangin’s mother defended her father’s absence and called him a wonderful father.

Mangin has turned her mother’s fragmented tales into a detailed account of her family history, and with it, provided an inside look at life at Norwich State Hospital in the early and mid-20th century. Using patient records, genealogical methods, and DNA testing, Mangin has pieced together a family story that reads like a Dickens novel. Weaving in what she learned about intergenerational trauma and the consequences of family secrets, Mangin has created a testament to the power of family history to empower people and heal old wounds.

Mangin will give a brief talk about the book and her research and gear the program to aspects of interest to the audience. 

Copies of the book, which sell for $20 cash or PayPal payment, will be available for purchase.

This program will be recorded for future broadcast.