As one who has made theatre for over 40 years, I recognize the centrality of story and storytelling to all human experience and am heartened by the growing recognition of its value in recent times, thanks, in large part to radio shows like 360, TAL etc.

I'm very curious about the idea Daniela (superb storyteller!) ends her story with: relating one's cherished memories in bars or at parties can trivialize them, but telling them as stories can "freeze" or protect them. I'd be interested in hearing Daniela unpack the distinction. I don't disagree with the notion and have my own thoughts on how this might work, based on recent research on trauma, narrative, and implicit v. explicit memory (cf. Daniel Siegel), but I'm curious about Daniela's path toward this view of story and memory. PS: I'm a Jew and I find nothing offensive in the mild, incidental humor in D's references to post-Holocaust attitudes or the subdued laughter with which some responded. I've taken up Holocaust related themes and materials in my theatre work, including the adaptation of a novel (See Under: Love) by Israeli author David Grossman which takes storytelling and the effect of Holocaust-related trauma on children of survivors as its themes, and is both heartbreaking and, at times, painfully and shockingly funny.

I found her presentation so enjoyable that I sat in the unfinished 30 degree kitchen to listen to the radio. Daniela Schiller did an amazing job of presenting her material to a broad audience.

I'm growing more and more obsessed with Studio360 I'm going to have to stop listening before I rack up too much of a reading list!

Daniella has a fantastic presentation and sense of humor.
I come from a similar background and feel very similar saturation with the Holocaust theme that is fed into growing kids in Israel. There is no trivializing of suffering here but rather a shear healthy humor out of keen observation and the will to go on and live life to the fullest.

@CPW from nyc - I agree, but the audience was only able to laugh because jokes were being made. The ability to have a sense of humor about holocaust-related things doesn't represent a new low for human beings, just more evidence that people are thick-skinned and, particularly, science-types.

People tend to hold on to painful memories, more than pleasant ones, probably as a survival mechanism to avoid the stimuli that caused the event in the future. For Holocaust survivors like Daniela's father, dealing with these memories is so painful because they cannot be avoided, they continue to traumatize the survivors long after the details have passed, because they had no control over the original events. However, by focusing on the the positive memories, like her father's memory of his sister, perhaps people who have experienced horrible circumstances can control the long term damage that bad memories cause. Memory may then be like the proverbial half full/half empty glass, and our conscious control over which memories to recall --the negative ones, or the positive ones, may help minimize the power that the bad ones have over our lives.

It's tough not to love the lovely doctor. What a riveting and delightfully thought-provoking, inspirational story.

I've 'web-stalked' her a bit and have a plethora of reading material marked. I am particularly interested in how she feels about confronting one's fear(s) - whether it is actually good for us.

And now, I wanna see her play the drums! :)

Thank you, Dr. Daniela!

The sound of the audience laughing in the background of Danielle Schiller's presentation was deeply offensive. This story is only meaningful if you know history, and anyone with knowledge of history would not laugh. Shame, shame, shame.