Dr. Jerry Jennings is a clinical psychologist and award-winning screenwriter and author. His work has been published in The American Psychologist, Psychotherapy, and The Journal of Mind and Body. He has published well over thirty books, chapters and articles in professional journals, four of which have been selected for republication in subsequent anthologies. As a screenwriter, Jerry has written scripts for two produced directors and has won honors in fifteen screenplay competitions for seven different scripts. Four of these competitions are rated A or A+ by Creative Screenwriting Magazine. Jerry has dedicated himself to pro bono work in writing the personal memoirs for Holocaust survivors. In addition to I Choose Life, two of these extraordinary stories are currently available through Xlibris: Stella’s Secret (2005) and Darkness Hides the Flowers (2007). Stella’s Secret has received commendations from the Holocaust Awareness Museum, which offered complimentary copies of the book for all new memberships, and it is a recommended educational resource by the Pennsylvania Holocaust education Council. The screenplay version of Stella’s Secret, titled Stellunia was the winner in drama in the 2005 Gotham City Screenwriting Competition, a Semi-finalist in the 2006 Moondance International Film Festival, and a Quarter-finalist in the 2007 American Screenwriting Competition, 2007 Slamdance Competition and the 2006 Cynosure Screenwriting Competition.
Joseph S. Finkelstein, a second generation child of Holocaust survivors, is a lawyer in Philadelphia, where he is a partner in the law firm Blank Rome LLP (www.blankrome.com). Joe is acknowledged as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA, which rates him as an “excellent and strong attorney” who is a “recognized talent in the Philadelphia legal community. ” He is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who in American Law, is named in The Best Lawyers in America, and is a Philadelphia Magazine Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer.” Joe is an elected Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, recognizing national preeminence in the practice of real estate law. Joe devotes a significant amount of time to pro bono legal services for non-profit charitable, religious, civic, and educational groups. His service on non-profit boards includes President of Perelman Jewish Day School, President of Beth Am Israel Synagogue, Trustee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Board and Executive Committee of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia State of Israel Bonds. He is a Fellow of the Wexner Heritage Foundation. He has been honored by the State of Israel Bonds with its “New Life/New Leadership” award, by the United Way with its “Hearts of Gold” volunteer recognition award, and by Student World Concern for “Outstanding Contribution to Social Justice.” Joe, his parents Sol and Goldie Finkelstein, and family, are subjects in the documentary film The Phoenix Effect ( www.phoenixdocumentary.com), a study of the intergenerational impact of the Holocaust.
Sol and Goldie Finkelstein are Holocaust survivors from Radom and Sosnowiec, Poland, who settled after the war in Vineland, New Jersey, where they raised three children on their chicken farm. Their life histories are the subject of I Choose Life.
