Beauty Laid Bare is Lisa Brener’s stunning coming of age story set in New Orleans in the 1950’s through the 70's, focusing on her Jewish childhood and adolescence, within the compelling context of the first and second-generation Jewish community.
Emotionally isolated by her unhappy family life, Lisa transcends this pain through a creative life in theatre, establishing a connection to a larger world. We follow her as she traverses from early success on the stage to a competitive Performance Arts Boarding school, far from home, where Lisa has an emotional breakdown, resulting in a long stay in a mental hospital as a teenager. Though a family tragedy follows, this memoir is an incredible journey of how she overcame the challenges that beset her, her deep desire to live and create, finally succeeding in college and law school. Lisa not only survives but learns how to thrive, becoming a pioneer in women’s rights, and one of the most influential employment attorneys in Louisiana. Beauty Laid Bare is ultimately a profound meditation on forgiveness and gratitude, and our ability to see beauty everywhere in our lives.
