Margaret Ajemian Ahnert to speak on her new book in Glendale

PanARMENIAN.Net - Margaret Ajemian Ahnert, author of “The Knock at the Door: A Journey Through the Darkness of the Armenian Genocide”, will speak about her book on June 27, 2012 at the Glendale Central Library.

Margaret Ajemian Ahnert, the winner of the 2008 New York Book Fair Award for Best Historical Memoir was born in New York City. She has an MFA from Goucher College and a BA from Goddard College. She has pursued a variety of careers: producing television documentaries, lecturing as a docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“The Knock at the Door”, is the story of Ester, Margaret’s mother, and her terrifying experiences as a young woman during the year of 1915 Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Ester was separated from her foster family at the age of 15, during a forced march away from her birth town of Amasia. She narrowly avoided kidnapping, faced unspeakable horrors at the hands of soldiers, and was forcibly married to an abusive Turkish wagon-driver. Throughout her ordeal, she reminded herself that “this, too, will pass,” a mantra which enabled her to survive these nightmarish experiences. Eventually, she escaped captivity and was able to make her way to America. “The Knock at the Door” is published in several languages including Spanish, Italian, Polish, Armenian and Turkish. The publisher of the Turkish edition is in jail for publishing the book because it is against the law in Turkey to publish anything that is anti-Turkish.

The program is sponsored by the Abril bookstore and the Glendale Public Library.