"Second Generation" Holocaust Survivor
Publishes Humor-Filled Memoir
Booth 1017 at LA Times Festival of Books

Hanala Suzan Stadner, the popular Los Angeles television personality and fitness instructor, will sign copies of her memoir, My Parents Went Through the Holocaust and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, Saturday and Sunday, April 28-29 at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, Booth 1017. Hanala will be at the fair from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. (See the Event Map for the location of Booth 1017 near Moore Hall on the UCLA main campus.)

The daughter of Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust, Hanala moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, but she developed an eating disorder and serious addictions, like drugs, alcohol and men in limos. Thanks to 12-step programs and psychotherapy, she got sober and fit - and decided to help others.

Through the highs and lows, Hanala developed an ironist's delicate eye for detail. In her memoir she writes, "I have a special form of childhood Attention Deficit Disorder. I can't hold Ma or Daddy's attention. The Holocaust, dancing a polka in their heads, distracts them."

By turns hilarious and horrifying, Hanala's account of her childhood and her struggle to come to terms with her parents has inspired other members of the "Second Generation" - the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. One admiring reader who shared her experience wrote, "Besides just enjoying this book so much, I was surprised at how much I learned about my parents, and it triggered many memories - things I haven't thought about in years. I found myself in tears at times, and laughing out loud at other times."

The longtime host of L.A.'s most successful local-access cable program, Hanala also maintains a private substance-abuse counseling practice and is one of L.A.'s most popular spin instructors. She has appeared on CBS Early Show, Dateline, Leeza, Extra and countless radio shows. Her standup routines on subjects like addictions, sex, fitness and family dysfunction can be viewed at www.hanala.podcastpeople.com.

Hanala also is starring in a show called Hanala's Traumedy Central for Jewish Life TV (JLTV), a new international cable network. Please visit www.jewishlifetv.com/hanala.jltv