“This memoir offers much more than merely tracing the steps of a nine year old Jewish boy through Nazi-occupied Poland. Joel takes the reader into his father’s mindset and feelings in order to provide insight into the life changing decisions he made while resisting antisemitism before, during and after the war. By analyzing the psychologies taught to him by his parents before they were murdered, Joel shares Nathan’s thought processes and heart wrenching decisions from the survivor’s perspective. By including Nathan’s emotions together with what is a heroic resistance story, Joel has weaved an account of the Holocaust that illustrates the light at the end of history’s darkest tunnel.”
Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Beth Jacob Congregation of Irvine |
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“A son of a survivor, whose story had been locked away almost his whole life, Joel, with new-found clarity and courage, was determined to open up the past and not only hear his father’s experiences, but declared for all who could hear, that he would write it down and share them with the world.”
Lori Palatnik, founding director, Momentum https://momentumunlimited.org/ |
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“Compelling and inspiring, the Holocaust story of a nine year old Jewish boy’s resilience gives meaning to life even when life is revealed in its most cruel state. Unwilling to succumb to Nazi and Polish persecution, Nathan’s instinct to turn misfortune into opportunity, to know when to run and when to stay and adapt, serves as an example to us all. Enduring the unbearable and facing the Holocaust without his family, Nathan’s triumph of spirt showcases the will to live even when his tomorrow was unpromised.”
Saul Blinkoff, Hollywood producer (former Disney animator/director, producer at DreamWorks Animation and at Netflix); motivational speaker; podcast host of “Life of AWESOME!” https://www.saulblinkoff.com |
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“There is a great significance attributed to the painful undertaking that comes with sharing the Holocaust survivor’s story. We honor our parents of the Shoah and remember those murdered by the Nazis by doing what we can to prevent future genocide. This is a story of one boy’s defiance of evil that ran parallel to his indescribable will to live in spite of that evil. With sensitivity and compassion, yet while delivering his father’s story in a forthright manner, Joel has taken up his sacred obligation and looked to educate future generations about the evils of hate.”
Irving M. Chase, Second Generation Holocaust survivor |