The Orthodox Forum of Highland Park/Edison will present “A Conversation on Stigma: Personal and communal challenges within the Orthodox world, and how we can empower ourselves and each other towards healing,” by Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW, and moderated by Merri Ukraincik. The program will be held over Zoom on Sunday, February 13 at 10 a.m.

Lankin Sheps is a writer, photographer and clinically trained therapist. She is the creator and publisher of The Layers Project Magazine, an online magazine that offers in-depth insights into the challenges and triumphs of the lives of Jewish women, and is passionate about creating spaces for stories that need to be told and changing the dialogue around stigmatized topics. She is the author of “Layers: Personal Narratives of Struggle, Resilience, and Growth From Jewish Women” published by Toby Press in 2021. She grew up in Highland Park, and now lives in Jerusalem with her husband and children. To learn more about The Layers Project Magazine, see: https://thelayersprojectmagazine.com/

Ukraincik is a writer whose essays and poetry sensitively and bravely explore a wide range of topics, from Jewish life to motherhood. She is the author of “I Live. Send Help: 100 Years of Jewish History in Images from the JDC Archives,” as well as a past columnist for the New Jersey Jewish News. A former nonprofit executive who once traveled the world, Ukraincik now stays close to home in New Jersey, where she lives with her family. Find a selection of her published work, which has appeared in Tablet, The Jewish Week, Lilith and the Forward, among others, at www.merriukraincik.com.

For information on the Orthodox Forum and to view recordings of earlier sessions visit the website: www.orthodoxjewishforum.org 

To join the February 13 session, use this Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/mtxd6bs5