List of Books by Kim Chernin. See all books authored by Kim Chernin
About Kim Chernin
Kim Chernin (May 7, 1940 – December 17, 2020) was an American feminist writer, poet, and memoirist.
Chernin was born on May 7, 1940, in the Bronx, New York. Her parents, Rose Chernin and Paul Kusnitz, were Russian-born Jewish immigrants. Rose Chernin was an organizer for the Communist Party and founded the Los Angeles Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born. Paul Kusnitz was a teacher of Marxism for the Communist Party. Chernin's childhood was influenced by the death of her older sister, Nina, to Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Shortly after Nina's death, the Kusnitz family relocated to Los Angeles to be near relatives. Her mother resumed full-time work as a party organizer and in 1951 made national headline news when she was arrested for "advocating the overthrow of the government." Rose Chernin was later called before the House Un-American Activities Committee for her work as a party organizer. The U.S. government tried unsuccessfully to denaturalize her and deprive her of citizenship for such activities.