Gail Lukaisk is freelance writer, editor, college lecturer, and author. She will discuss her new book "What They Never Told Us", which us tells the stories of ordinary people who made extraordinary, life-changing discoveries. These discoveries are about their parentage and/or race and ethnicity that fractured their identities and prompted two fundamental questions: Who are we? And what exactly is family?

Gail will also the devastating psychological trauma of uncovering a hidden family secret with all the twists and turns of a mystery novel, starting with how the discovery was made; to why it was kept secret.

ABOUT GAIL LUKAISK

Gail Lukasik is a freelance writer, editor, college lecturer, and the author of the bestselling book White Like Her: My Family's Story of Race and Racial Passing, which the Washington Post named "One of the Most Inspiring Stories of 2017." Gail has appeared on PBS's Genealogy Roadshow, BBC World News, and NBC's Megyn Kelly Today. She is also a contributor at the Washington Post and the author of several mystery novels featuring the character Leigh Girard.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Gail grew up in the suburb of Parma. Her mother, an avid moviegoer, took her Friday nights to the local movie theater. That’s where she fell in love with stories of all kinds. Her dream was to be a movie star, a ballerina or a writer.

As luck would have it, she realized two of her three dreams. She was a member of the Cleveland Civic Ballet Company. And she’s the author of five mystery novels, a memoir, a book of poetry, and numerous poems, essays, and short stories.

After earning a PhD and MA in English with a specialization in writing poetry, Gail decided to write a mystery novel at the urging of her son. Destroying Angels, the first book in her Leigh Girard mystery series, was described by Kirkus Reviews as “a riveting debut thriller.” She went on to write two more books in the series, Death’s Door and Peak Season for Murder, which won a Lovey Award for Best Traditional Sleuth. The Lost Artist, her stand-alone mystery, reflected her love of the visual arts and 19th century history.