Vancouver author and activist, Gloria Levi was born and raised in New York City. In 1950, at the age of 19 Levi traveled to what was then the newly-formed country of Israel. Intending to just stay for the summer, she falls in love with a man she meets en route and shortly thereafter, Israel too. She gets pregnant and decides to remain in Israel only to find there are difficulties raising a young family in her new country. Kissing an Old Dream Goodbye: A Memoir, 1950 -59 (Fictive Press, 2019) is her memoir of the travails of a young family trying to integrate into Israeli society in the 1950s and gradually coming to the realization that her path to Israeli identity is complex and multi-layered. Levi later moved to Canada where she worked as a gerontologist for more than 30 years in positions such as recreation therapist, social worker, trainer/consultant in aging, and finally as a community volunteer coordinator. Her series of six booklets, Challenges of Later Life (1992) was widely distributed throughout Canada. Her book, Dealing With Memory Changes As You Grow Older (Bantam, 1998), co-authored with Kathleen Gose, has been translated into six languages. Gloria published her first memoir, My Dance with Shechina, in 2012. A dedicated student of Judaic studies, she also translated the story of a Chasidic master, The Life and Times of Simcha Bunim of P'shischa (2007), from the original Hebrew. In 2022, Gloria self-published a creative memoir (with fictional characters based on her own family) based on her upbringing in the USA, The Hotel Keeper's Daughter. The story tells of the Hamerov family from 1938-1948, the tail end of the Depression years, World War II and the beginning of the post-World War years. They lived in a religious, Eastern European Jewish immigrant community in Brooklyn, New York. To break the cycle of poverty, the parents decide to become hotelkeepers. Leo, the father, a Talmudic scholar, has serious health problems. Ida, the mother, is a resilient, driven woman, determined to succeed financially. All four children struggle with the expectations and demands made upon them. This is a coming-of-age story of Gilda, the youngest, who clashes with her mother in her quest to find her place within the family and in the world.

Politically active, Levi served as a city councillor in Coquitlam from 1981 to 1984. She also established Habitat for Humanity of Greater Vancouver and helped build 27 houses, from 1997 to 2004. She is the mother of five, grandmother of 11, and great grandmother of seven.

BOOKS
Challenges of Later Life (1992)
Dealing With Memory Changes As You Grow Older (Bantam, 1998)
My Dance with Shechina (2012)
Kissing an Old Dream Goodbye: A Memoir, 1950 -59 (Fictive Press 2019)
The Hotel Keeper's Daughter (Self-published, 2022). Creative memoir. 9780987894700
Translation:
The Life and Times of Simcha Bunim of P'shischa (2007)

[BCBW 2023]