Rita managed a successful independent bookshop for 13 years after many years of teaching and librarianship in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Twenty years ago she finally came to terms with her Holocaust demons and described this process in her story The Last Barrier. The story was selected for reading on Radio National’s ‘First Person’ program. As well as devoted grandmotherhood, Rita is a guide at the Sydney Jewish Museum and continues to volunteer in the Museum Library. This is her 9th year on the SJWF Programming Committee.