AuthorsLive welcomes Dr. Rebecca Brenner Graham for a book talk on Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany, her inspiring new narrative of the first woman to serve in a president’s cabinet, revealing the full, never-before-told story of Frances Perkins's role in saving Jewish refugees during the Nazi regime.

Frances Perkins’s early experiences working in Chicago’s famed Hull House and as a firsthand witness to the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist fire shaped her determination to advocate for immigrants and refugees. As Secretary of Labor, she wrestled widespread antisemitism and isolationism, finding creative ways to work around quotas and restrictive immigration laws. Diligent, resilient, empathetic, yet steadfast, she persisted on behalf of the desperate when others refused to act.

Based on extensive research, including thousands of letters housed in the National Archives, Dear Miss Perkins adds new dimension to an already extraordinary life story, revealing at last how one woman tried to steer the nation to a better, more righteous course.

Copies of Dear Miss Perkins will be available for purchase and signing through Diane's Books.

For more information or questions about this event, please contact authorslive@greenwichlibrary.org.

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