Fear, Fathers, and Family: In Search of the American Dream

When Jon J. Masters ’58 was 10, his parents cut off their families and became Episcopalians in an attempt to join the American upper class. Jon is sworn to never tell anyone — his baby brother, any woman he may marry — that they had ever been Jews. In his memoir Fear, Fathers and Family: In Search of the American Dream, Masters reveals how he lived a parallel life for more than 30 years, constrained by his parents’ fear of exposure but acting as though he could be whoever he wanted to be. Inspired to write his story for his descendants, Masters, a corporate governance consultant in New York, provides a look at issues that plagued many families of immigrants in mid-20th century America.