Dr. Jack Mayer tells the story of Irena Sendler, a holocaust hero who rescued 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto. Sendler’s story remained unknown after the war—until three Kansas teens uncovered a reference to her heroism 60 years later.

They helped transform her story into a National History Day play called Life in a Jar, finally bringing recognition to Sendler’s heroism and helping to open dialogue about the Holocaust in Poland. The “girls from Kansas” continue to champion Sendler’s legacy—courage, tolerance, and respect for all—and are living examples of the power individuals have to change the world.

Jack Mayer is a Vermont writer and pediatrician. In 1991, he established Rainbow Pediatrics in Middlebury, where he continues to practice primary care pediatrics. He is an instructor in Pediatrics at the University of Vermont School of Medicine and an adjunct faculty for pre-medical students at Middlebury College.

Dr. Mayer has written short stories, poems, and essays for the past forty years, and participated in the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference for three years. He is the author of two award-winning books: the non-fiction Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project, and the historical fiction Before the Court of Heaven.

This event is sponsored by the Page Turners Book Club.