Meet Barbara Viniar

This historical novel traces the immigration of a Jewish girl from Russia to New York City in 1910, as her family seeks to save her from escalating violence. No longer her parents' dutiful and adored "little bird," she becomes dutiful wife to a wealthy cousin. When her husband's cruelty finally pushes her to risk leaving him, she parlays her embroidery skills into a job and self-reliance. But will daring to love again mean risking her independence again?

Barbara Viniar started out in academia, teaching Women's Studies part time at the graduate and undergraduate levels and writing her doctoral dissertation on women's moral development in contemporary fiction. After retiring from her second college presidency, she turned to creative writing. A chance discovery about her grandmother compelled her to imagine the story that became Little Bird.