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Local Author Showcase spotlights Skokie-area writers and their work. This month, meet Eileen Ladin-Panzer, author of A Life Less Lived. Eileen will be appearing at the library for a reading on Monday, Sept. 15 at 7 pm.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

After more than 30 years of working in the Chicago Public Schools as an administrator, I retired and began a new life as a writer. With my debut novel, A Life Less Lived, I am fulfilling that lifelong ambition.

How would you describe your book?

This book is a verbal painting of mid-20th century Jewish immigrant life and the struggles of one family to fit themselves and their children into a new and different culture. It contains many threads, including the story, characters, the trauma of mental illness, discussions of luck, morality, Judaism, and the larger history of the time. There is also a great deal about Chicago, a city I know and love. Because I am a Chicago native, the Chicago background provides a context and background for the events that occur.

What’s the last great book you read?

Current books that I recommend are The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. The Goldfinch is a wonderfully, lyrically descriptive book, and I wish I had written it. The Invention of Wings is a powerful story of the first female abolitionists who were feminists at a time when women were to be seen and not heard.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

My favorite all-time authors are James Michener, whose book, The Source, remains my very favorite book. F. Scott Fitzgerald pioneered a modern viewpoint, and I think he influenced generations of writers. The Great Gatsby has been made into a movie several times, with a current movie version. I love his story, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.” Another classic American writer is Mark Twain whose Huckleberry Finn remains one of the most appreciated books of all time.

Are there any books that influenced your work?

In my writing, I focus on characterization, theme and point of view of the various characters. If I were to compare A Life Less Lived to any other book, it would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This book is also about the problems faced by immigrants. In this case, they are Irish and living at the beginning of the twentieth century, but I believe the problems faced by immigrants are universal and relevant to all those arriving in the United States today.

My goal in writing this novel is to further understanding about the immigrant experience and enrich people’s understanding of the time period of the book. Writing and self-publishing has been an adventure, and I am looking forward to continuing the fascinating and personally enriching experience.