Lina Haber and Glenn Schwartz — Presentation of the new book A Refusenik's Odyssey

A Refusenik's Odyssey, written by husband and wife Lina Levit Haber and Glenn Schwarcz, is the remarkable true story of Lina's life in Moscow.  Raised to be a staunch communist and atheist, she was denied entrance to medical school because of her Jewish heritage.  This dashed her dream of becoming the third generation physician in her family.

Lina and her family applied to leave the Soviet Union but were refused, therefore becoming "refuseniks".

The book details her complex journey to leave Russia, attend medical school in America, and eventually discover what it means to be Jewish.

The presentation of the new book *A Refusenik's Odyssey* by Lina Haber and Glenn Schwartz

The book offers a first-hand account of Lina's life in Soviet Russia during the Cold War.  I believe that your members would appreciate learning about Lina's incredible story!

Lina, the daughter and granddaughter of prominent physicians, grew up in a comfortable apartment in the shadows of the Kremlin during a time when Vladimir Lenin
was revered as the father of Soviet Russia, and its citizens believed that they lived in the most advanced nation in the world.

Lina was an atheist, and a proud member of the Young Pioneers, the youth group run by the Communist Party. She was an excellent student who knew at an early age that
she wished to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a doctor.

Her dreams and her idyllic view of her country’s superiority were shattered when she was denied entrance to medical school because of her Jewish heritage. She began to see more clearly the disparity between Party leadership and average citizens in accessing food and clothing.

Lina’s family wanted to give their daughter an opportunity to pursue her dreams and applied for and were denied permission to leave the Soviet Union. They unwittingly
joined the ranks of refuseniks, thousands of men and women who were refused exits because of Soviet leaderships’ fears that the world would see the flaws in this “utopian society”.

Lina lays bare these flaws in this February 2026 release by Peter E. Randall Publisher.  Ilya Raskin, a Rutgers University professor and fellow refusenik, describes the book as “A compelling, honest, and thoughtfully written narrative----appealing in the way it embraces the unexpected turns that life presents us.”