Author event! David Weill x Rabbi Ron Stern

About the book:

In this heart-wrenching memoir by a renowned transplant doctor who grew up without religion, a journey of self-discovery as he uncovers his family's past.

David Weill grew up in New Orleans the only son of a world-famous Jewish pulmonologist and a Southern Baptist mother. Religion was never discussed in his home, and as a young child, Weill always felt something was amiss—that he never quite fit in with either his Christian or Jewish friends. These feelings stayed with him even as he became the head of heart and lung transplant at Stanford University, which lead to two journeys of discovery: first, converting to Catholicism, and then embarking on an intense search for his Jewish roots after he discovered his mother had converted.

The author takes the reader on his journey—hiring investigators in Berlin, who found his grandfather’s records of his time imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp; a heart-wrenching trip to Berlin to find his father’s first home—and ultimately does the internal work to define himself.

About the authors:

DAVID WEILL, MD, is the former Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Diseases and the Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center. A sought-after advisor to various transplant programs across the country, he also serves on the the Board of TransMedics, a company focused on improving availability of donor organs. Dr. Weill has also served on several non-profit boards including the Tulane Medical School, Xavier University of Louisiana, SFJAZZ, the Isidore Newman School, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) Foundation, NextGen Personal Finance, and the Bellevue Literary Review. Dr. Weill’s writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Salon, Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, STAT, the Washington Post, The Hill, LitHub, Tablet, The Times of Israel, TODAY.com, and the Los Angeles Times. His previous books include the memoir Exhale: Hope, Healing, and Life in Transplant (2021) and a novel, All That Really Matters (2024). He lives in New Orleans. For more information, please visit davidweill.com.

Rabbi Ron Stern has been the rabbi at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles since 1998. Originally from Morristown, NJ, he has dedicated over two decades to fostering a vibrant community focused on empathy and addressing human needs. Under his leadership, the temple has engaged in various initiatives aimed at making a positive impact in the lives of its members and the surrounding community. In addition to his role at Stephen Wise Temple, Rabbi Stern serves as the vice chair of Hope the Mission, an organization committed to addressing homelessness and supporting vulnerable populations. His commitment to social justice and community service is reflective of his broader mission to create a compassionate and inclusive environment for all.

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