Posted in Book Release, Giveaway, Guest Post, Historical, Holocaust on August 7, 2020

 

 

 

 

The Takeaway Men

 

by Meryl Ain

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Publisher: Sparkpress

 

Release date: August 4, 2020

 

 

Synopsis

 

With the cloud of the Holocaust still looming over them, twin sisters Bronka and Johanna Lubinski and their parents arrive in the US from a Displaced Persons Camp. In the years after World War II, they experience the difficulties of adjusting to American culture as well as the burgeoning fear of the Cold War. Years later, the discovery of a former Nazi hiding in their community brings the Holocaust out of the shadows. As the girls get older, they start to wonder about their parents’ pasts, and they begin to demand answers. But it soon becomes clear that those memories will be more difficult and painful to uncover than they could have anticipated. Poignant and haunting, The Takeaway Men explores the impact of immigration, identity, prejudice, secrets, and lies on parents and children in mid-twentieth-century America.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

TWINS AS CHARACTERS

 

People often ask me why I chose to have twins as two of the main characters in my novel, The Takeaway Men. And also, since I am not a twin myself, how did I get into their heads?

The fraternal twin girls in my novel, Bronka and JoJo, come to New York with their parents from a Displaced Persons Camp in Europe in 1951. They are three-and-a-half years old when they arrive. Both of their parents carry with them not only their rucksacks, but also the baggage of the Holocaust and war-torn and post-war Poland. I wanted to show two sisters who shared the same environment, but had varying reactions to what they experienced. Since I was writing about children of survivors, I thought it was important to show that they were not all alike– even in the same family.

My research indicated that these children, “The Second Generation” (2G of Holocaust survivors) had a broad range of emotions and reactions to what they saw, heard, and experienced in their homes. Making them the same age and sex highlighted both the similarities and the differences. So, although the twins were dressed in matching outfits, they didn’t necessarily always see the world the same way. Bronka is very literal, so when JoJo is intrigued with a Tiny Tears doll that “sheds real tears,” Bronka is critical, saying it is a fake. When they have to duck under their desks as part of a take-cover drill, Bronka is sure a bomb is going to hit them. JoJo holds her hand and tries to comfort her, saying it is just a practice drill. As the more intense of the two, Bronka takes their father’s mood swings much more seriously than her twin.

As a first child myself, my intensive experience with twins began the day I met my husband, Stewart. His identical twin brother, Howard was actually my blind date on that occasion but by the time the night was over, Stewart had maneuvered a switch. Ever since that night, I have been watching and witnessing what makes the brothers alike and what makes them very different. It has been a long time. Stewart and I have raised three sons and have six grandchildren. Howard has two sons and five grandchildren.  While Stewart has been my live-in expert on the subject, Abigail Pogrebin’s book, One and the Same, helped me better understand female twins. And Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush’s book, Sisters First, gave me valuable insight into fraternal twin girls. In addition, I also spoke with several twin sisters.

To make my depiction of these Second Generation twins accurate, I also did a tremendous amount of research on the subject, including reading numerous books and conversations with children of Holocaust survivors.  I’m relieved and gratified that both my twin husband and my friends, who are 2Gs, said the book resonated with them and I “got it right.”

 

 

About the Author

 

Meryl Ain’s articles and essays have appeared in Huffington Post, The New York Jewish Week, The New York Times, Newsday and other publications. The Takeaway Men is her debut novel. In 2014, she co-authored the award-winning book, The Living Memories Project: Legacies That Last, and in 2016, wrote a companion workbook, My Living Memories Project Journal. She is a sought-after speaker and has been interviewed on television, radio, and podcasts. She is a career educator and is proud to be both a teacher and student of history. She has also worked as a school administrator. The Takeaway Men is the result of her life-long quest to learn more about the Holocaust, a thirst that was first triggered by reading The Diary of Anne Frank in the sixth grade. While teaching high school history, she introduced her students to the study of the Holocaust. At the same time, she also developed an enduring fascination with teaching about and researching the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case. An interview with Robert Meeropol, the younger son of the Rosenbergs, is featured in her book, The Living Memories Project. The book also includes an interview with Holocaust survivor, Boris Chartan, the founder of the Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, New York. Meryl holds a BA from Queens College, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D. from Hofstra University. She lives in New York with her husband, Stewart. They have three married sons and six grandchildren.

 

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Giveaway

 

Win 1 of 5 print copies of THE TAKEAWAY MEN or $25 Amazon Gift Card (USA only) (6 winners) (ends Aug 17)

 

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Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Historical, Holocaust, Spotlight on March 9, 2015

A Life of the Twentieth Century

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Synopsis

A Life of the Twentieth Century is the story of Aya, who lived through the loss of her parents before the age of 3. At the age of twelve she was sent to a boarding school in Budapest, that closed after one year, because the Nazi army marched into the city.

Aya was left totally alone to face the Nazi occupation, and to experience all the horrors of the war. She faced many life threatening situations, such as prison, bombardment or even the possibility of being executed on the spot, without really comprehending the gravity of it all.

The end of the war was supposed to mean liberation, the return of hope and freedom for most people, however it didn’t happen for Aya, who was part of a youth group on her way to Palestine. The destination of this youth group was to reach Italy and the Jewish Brigade. They crossed the Alps on foot from Austria to reach Italy.

As they reached their destination Aya met a soldier from the Jewish Brigade, who was supposed to be her Hero, her Saviour, but turned out to be the devil incarnate. From day one, this soldier of the Jewish brigade took control of Aya’s life when she was only 15 years old.

After divorce, destitute and once again alone, she had no direction and almost no hope, when from deep inside her a small voice said; go back to school. It took all her courage to apply to university, where she was accepted and after 5 year was granted a B.A. and a Diploma of Teaching. She spent the rest of her life teaching, and as she contemplated her life she said to herself that if she had had all the choices in the world, she would have chosen teaching.

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About the Author

Irene EvenIrene Even was born in Hungary. As a child she lived through the Second World War, using false papers to survive. After the war, she immigrated to Palestine, lived in a Kibbutz, then later married and immigrated to Canada with her family. She returned to Israel to teach English and remained there for twenty-two years. Having written her memoir, A Life of the Twentieth Century, she now lives in retirement in Montreal.

 

 

 

 

 

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One of 10 ebook copies of  A Life of the Twentieth Century or a $10 Amazon gift card / Open internationally. Ends March 21

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Posted in Historical, Holocaust, Spotlight, Thriller on February 13, 2015

Last Witness Book Cover

The Last Witness by Jerry Amernic

Print Length: 336 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0990421651
Publisher: Story Merchant Books (October 29, 2014)
Genre: Historical Thriller
Language: English
Format: Paperback and Kindle Editions

Synopsis

The year is 2039, and Jack Fisher is the last living survivor of the Holocaust. Set in a world that is abysmally ignorant and complacent about events of the last century, Jack is a 100-year-old man whose worst memories took place before he was 5. His story hearkens back to the Jewish ghetto of his birth and to Auschwitz where, as a little boy, he had to fend for himself to survive after losing all his family. Jack becomes the central figure in a missing-person investigation when his granddaughter suddenly disappears. While assisting police, he finds himself in danger and must reach into the darkest corners of his memory to come out alive.

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Note from the Author

My research included spending time with real-life, former child survivors. To illustrate the point of this novel, we produced a video and went around asking university students in Toronto where I live what they know about the Holocaust and World War II. The level of ignorance out there is incredible. Have a look.

 

About the Author

Jerry AmernicJerry Amernic is a Toronto writer who has been a newspaper reporter and correspondent, newspaper columnist, feature contributor for magazines, and media consultant. He has taught writing and journalism at college, and is the author of several books.

His first book was Victims: The Orphans of Justice, a true story about a former police officer whose daughter was murdered. The man became a leading advocate for victims of crime. Jerry later wrote a column on the criminal justice system for The Toronto Sun, and has since been a contributor to many other newspapers. In 2007 he co-authored Duty – The Life of a Cop with Julian Fantino, the highest-profile police officer Canada has ever produced and currently a member of the country’s federal Cabinet.

Jerry’s first novel Gift of the Bambino (St. Martin’s Press, 2004) was widely praised by the likes of The Wall Street Journal in the U.S., and The Globe and Mail in Canada. His latest novel is the historical thriller The Last Witness, which is set in the year 2039 and is about the last living survivor of the Holocaust. The biblical-historical thriller Qumran will be released next. It’s about an archeologist who makes a dramatic discovery in the Holy Land.

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Posted in Book Blast, contest, Giveaway, Holocaust, nonfiction on November 21, 2013

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Title: Becoming Alice
Author: Alice Rene
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 284
Purchase at iUniverse

Praise for the Book

“Strongly recommended a deftly written memoir that will hold the reader’s rapt attention from beginning to end.”
-Midwest Book Review

“Her ability to authentically capture the bewilderment and pain of dislocation through a child’s eyes – including the disharmony in her immediate family – makes for engaging reading that will resonate with young adults everywhere.”
-Beth B. Cohen, Ph.D., author of Case Closed: Holocaust Survivors in America, 1946-1954

Synopsis

Six-year-old Ilse watches Nazi soldiers march down her street in Vienna, Austria. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will take her to Riga, Latvia, and finally to Portland, Oregon. Becoming Alice chronicles her Jewish family’s harrowing escape and struggle as immigrants to fit into the American landscape. The added problems of growing up within a troubled family cloud her childhood and adolescence.

Ilse changes her name to Alice. Not until she moves into a boarding house in Berkeley, surrounded by girls from a patchwork of cultures, does she make peace with her true identity. Becoming Alice brilliantly showcases Rene’s triumph over adversity, identity crisis, and the sometimes debilitating power of family ties.

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About the Author

Alice Rene holds a master’s degree in social welfare. She lives with her husband in Southern California.

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