V. S. Naipaul

Family histories can be valuable for genealogy and personal recollection and Judith Levy has contributed some books that encourage people to write such histories.

Judith Levy, the eighth of ten children, was born to synagogue singer Alter Privin and his wife Dina, in Brooklyn, N.Y. It was difficult to get attention in such a large family, so as a result, Levy became very close to her maternal grandmother, Chana Shultz.

Levy married a handbag manufacturer, Herb Levy, raised three daughters, Marcy, Carole, and Cathy, and pursued a career singing with the Peter Duchin Orchestra. However, she had fond memories of her grandmother and that made her decide to take a course in family history at Florida Atlantic University. Because she enjoyed writing poems, she created a book that included some opening passage poems in a book and provided additional space for grandmothers to write about their lives and cherished memories. Initially, she marketed the book herself, but it was ultimately published by Stewart, Tabori, and Chang.

Grandmother Remembers became the motivation for grandmothers in many countries to set down their memories in print. Later, Ms. Levy heard from many people who requested a similar book for grandfathers. In response, Levy created Grandfather Remembers.

Although suffering from sever osteoarthritis, Ms. Levy has managed to forge a successful writing career.

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