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Elli Friedmann #2
My Bridges of Hope
After liberation from Auschwitz, fourteen-year-old Elli, her brother, and their mother attempt to rebuild their lives in Czechoslovakia. But it doesn't take long for Elli to realize that even though the war is over, anti-Semitism is not, so she and her family decide to escape to America along with thousands of other Jews. Little do they know what agonies and adventures await them still.
Elli's memoir of her experiences after Auschwitz will captivate readers as they follow her through heartache, frustration, adventure, excitement, love, and ultimately, triumph.
Elli's memoir of her experiences after Auschwitz will captivate readers as they follow her through heartache, frustration, adventure, excitement, love, and ultimately, triumph.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
34 people are currently reading
1838 people want to read
About the author
Livia Bitton-Jackson
15 books149 followersLivia Bitton-Jackson (born February 28, 1931) is an author and a Holocaust survivor. She was born as Elli L. Friedmann in Samorin, Czechoslovakia. She was 13 years old when she, her mother, father, aunt and brother Bubi, were taken to Ghetto Nagymagyar. Eventually, they were transported to Auschwitz, the largest German concentration camp. She was liberated in 1945. Bitton-Jackson came to the U.S. on a refugee boat in 1951. She then studied at New York University, from which she received a Ph.D. in Hebrew Culture and Jewish History. She also wrote her 1997 memoir I Have Lived a Thousand Years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
April 17, 2008
This is the sequel to the authors "I Have Lived a Thousand Years". I have a pretty extensive Holocaust selection in my classroom and I don't know why, but I really enjoy reading these books.
This book was no exception. The narrator/author is just...impressive. She did so much with her life after liberation from the concentration camps. It's impossible to know where to start.
This book was no exception. The narrator/author is just...impressive. She did so much with her life after liberation from the concentration camps. It's impossible to know where to start.
October 11, 2011
I sat with my grandmother-in-law's husband whose family immigrated from Slovakia between 1890-1905 to take down genealogical data. His background sparked an interest in me to find out more about the history of that area of the world. In searching at our local library for something related to slovakia in that time frame I came across this autobiographical work in the teenage reading area of the library. Whereas, my family member's family was lutheran this book is about the post war recovery of a Jewish family who had suffered the horrifying ordeal of prison and labor camps. While not directly what I was looking for it is interesting and is giving me a feel for the political climate of the Czechoslovakia after WWII and is also helping me to understand some of the reasoning behind the establishment of state of Israel. I'm still reading it....
I like the bit of history that it introduced me to and I liked hearing from the perspective of a persecuted Jew. It really helped me understand some things about current events actually. It ended too abruptly for me. I would have liked to have read more of her story.
I like the bit of history that it introduced me to and I liked hearing from the perspective of a persecuted Jew. It really helped me understand some things about current events actually. It ended too abruptly for me. I would have liked to have read more of her story.
March 28, 2011
I really liked how the author explored what happened to Elli after she survived Auschwitz. I don't recall many Holocaust books exploring life after WWII. Anti-Semitism still existed in Europe. I didn't realize how many Jewish survivors had to go on the run to get to Israel because you still had world politics. Britain tried to stop the flow to Palestine, and ended up putting illegal aliens back in camps. I was saddened that the US made emigration harder if I person ended up in a country behind the Iron Curtain--thanks to the Cold War and Joseph McCarthy. It took Elli and her mother 5 and half years to emigrate to New York. They even had relatives there to hasten the process.
I want a third book about her life in the US, but there isn't one.
I want a third book about her life in the US, but there isn't one.
November 29, 2021
Book 2 of this 3 book series...I had no idea of how difficult the Jewish people had it after the end of WWII. This book details the challenges Ellie and her mother and brother experienced to get to America. An amazing book that detailed what was happening in Eastern Europe post war and how Ellie navigated the challenges and never lost sight of the end goal of obtaining her education while fighting to get to America to reunite and keep their family together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2017
I went into this book not really knowing what to expect — I’m not sure how it ended up on my family’s shelves, but I noticed it one day and added it to my to-read list for the future. Now, I have no idea where my copy of this book is, but luckily, the library had a copy. This is a memoir about a teenage girl’s coming of age after she survives the Holocaust and struggles to make a life for herself and make sense of the world after what she suffered, and after the turmoil that her country is put in post-World War II. It’s written in a very easy-to-read manner, so I can see this being a great introduction to older children and middle-graders as to what different people had to deal with during this time. It’s also a pretty quick read and told in short segments, so it would be easy to include in a Holocaust curriculum, at least in part.
This is apparently book 2 in a series, and I love that it follows the aftermath of the Holocaust, which I don’t think is talked about quite as much — or at least, my teachers never focused on it as much as the Holocaust itself. I’ve never read much about what happened to Slovakia after the war, so I enjoyed this book for giving me that perspective and teaching me more about all the different countries and people who were affected by the Holocaust, and how the surrender of Germany didn’t lead to immediately fixing anti-Semitism. Livia tells her story with painstaking honesty, and it hurt to see how roughly Jewish people were treated even after the war, and how hard it was for them to reunite with family members who had already emigrated to the United States or other countries. For some, it was even impossible.
Overall, I recommend this for someone who’s looking to learn more about this time period and what people had to deal with. In a way, it was heartening to read, because the community came together for each other and all supported one other so that they could make a better life for themselves. It’s still horrifying that any people were ever treated the way Jewish people were treated during this time, but reading about someone overcoming that hate and being an integral part in building up her community was heartwarming.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
This is apparently book 2 in a series, and I love that it follows the aftermath of the Holocaust, which I don’t think is talked about quite as much — or at least, my teachers never focused on it as much as the Holocaust itself. I’ve never read much about what happened to Slovakia after the war, so I enjoyed this book for giving me that perspective and teaching me more about all the different countries and people who were affected by the Holocaust, and how the surrender of Germany didn’t lead to immediately fixing anti-Semitism. Livia tells her story with painstaking honesty, and it hurt to see how roughly Jewish people were treated even after the war, and how hard it was for them to reunite with family members who had already emigrated to the United States or other countries. For some, it was even impossible.
Overall, I recommend this for someone who’s looking to learn more about this time period and what people had to deal with. In a way, it was heartening to read, because the community came together for each other and all supported one other so that they could make a better life for themselves. It’s still horrifying that any people were ever treated the way Jewish people were treated during this time, but reading about someone overcoming that hate and being an integral part in building up her community was heartwarming.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
February 18, 2013
I shall begin by saying that, in my opinion, this book has a great deal of unfulfilled potential. It had many exciting sequences, but they were sometimes related in a very monotone character voice, which detracted much of their power to captivate. You learn absolutely nothing about Elli except the various points on the timeline of her life. I was excited about this book because I had hoped it would give some kind of explanation as to how she and the remaining members of her family began to heal from the past, but there was nothing in that regard. No emotions; no brokenness followed by revitalization, except with other miscellaneous characters; no hope. It was strange. And needless to say, I didn't enjoy it much at all.
September 27, 2010
This was an enjoyable autobiography that was quite easy to read. It is written in a style that would appeal to a teenager, while carrying the sophistication of a wise college professor.
This is the story of a young Slovak girl in the years following her and her mother's liberation from Auschwitz. The reader becomes a witness to Elli's development from a 14-year-old to a very talented young woman. The story gives the reader insight into the challenges of life as a refugee and an immigrant.
I was surprised by how learning more about Elli's story made me want to better understand the stories of "illegal" residents in the United States today.
This is the story of a young Slovak girl in the years following her and her mother's liberation from Auschwitz. The reader becomes a witness to Elli's development from a 14-year-old to a very talented young woman. The story gives the reader insight into the challenges of life as a refugee and an immigrant.
I was surprised by how learning more about Elli's story made me want to better understand the stories of "illegal" residents in the United States today.
December 13, 2015
My only criticism of Livia Bitton-Jackson's first book was that I felt it left a lot of questions. I was quite happy to discover that there was a sequel. This book shows that even though Elli and her family survived the Holocaust, they still had to face a lot of anti-semetism and danger even after the Nazis weren't the main threat. This story shows that her remaining family were able to piece their lives together and how they struggled with the PTSD that they experienced. It gave me some much needed closure.
April 19, 2009
Again, a beautifully written book with a lot of insight into the thoughts of a holocaust survivor. This is the sequel to I Have Lived a Thousand Years and while I didn't love it as much as that book, it is still well worth reading.
August 2, 2015
I initially began to read the Elli Friedmann series because my A.P. U.S. History teacher gave me books about the Holocaust as a gift. Being a book lover, I’ll read every book I can get my hands on. This series is all about the author’s experience before, during, and after the Holocaust. The first book, I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust, begins how Elli Friedmann (the author changed her name) was before 1944; she would write poetry almost every day and talk to her family and friends about senseless things. She would talk to her neighbors without stressing over anything. Following a month after her thirteenth birthday, things began to change for her, her family, and millions of people all around the world. In March 1944, the Nazis invaded Hungary. At that point of her life, she and millions of Jews had to wear a distinguished garment, the yellow badge, to inform everyone that passes their path that they are Jews. Elli also couldn’t talk to anyone that was Christian or Catholic. A few days later, the authorities tell Elli’s family to pack a few of their belongings and go to a ghetto. The ghetto is the place where Elli and some of her family members get separated. After that separation, Elli and her mother go to a few concentration camps around Europe, including the notorious Auschwitz. In the first book of the series, Bitton-Jackson talks about the atrocities that she saw at such a young age. All through the book, Elli portrays her appearance, so you realize that she goes from a sensible, blue-eyed young lady with wonderful blonde locks to a mobile skeleton with a miserable look and a shaven head. One of the things that the author wrote that really struck me was that she was spared due to her hair. The Angel of Death let her and her mother live because of her golden locks. If it wasn’t for her hair, Elli and her mother would have been sent to the gas chambers.
In the second book of the series, My Bridges of Hope, Elli discusses her experience after the Holocaust. This is the main reason why I like this book. Barely any Holocaust survivors’ books show what happens after the war was over. The writers will let you know that many years later they moved to another country such as United States, Israel, and England, but they won’t inform the readers about their life after the liberation. My Bridges of Hope shows how there’s still anti-Semitism around Europe. It shows how Elli and her family didn’t have a proper home because everything was taken from them and were basically nomads for six more years. It demonstrates that in spite of the fact that fighters from United States, Great Britain, and USSR liberated the Jews, they were not all saints. Many of them would catcall and rape girls around Europe. The second book displays the struggle of people immigrating to other countries. My Bridges of Hope is slightly an uncommon book with regards to the subject of the Holocaust. Elli tells the audience that she’s a Zionist implying that she supports the State of Israel. I have perused numerous books about this sort of subject yet never from a Zionist’s perspective. It was exceptionally fascinating to peruse about Jews’ ensembles and customs.
The reasons why I rated the Elli Friedmann series sort of low is on the grounds that it wasn’t intriguing. It’s more informative than anything else. It informs about the struggles that the Jews had to go through, but it wasn’t filled with emotion or anything like that. It had numerous energizing arrangements; however they were in some cases said with an extremely monotone character voice, which reduced a lot of their energy to spellbind. The reader literally learns nothing about Elli with the exception of the different focuses on the course of events of her life. I was amped up for this book in light of the fact that I had trusted it would give some sort of clarification in the matter of how she and the remaining individuals from her family started to recuperate from the past, however, nothing in respect. I feel like this series was more of a chronology than anything else; there were no feelings, no brokenness, nothing.
(If you want to read more about my review please visit fullofbooks.com)
In the second book of the series, My Bridges of Hope, Elli discusses her experience after the Holocaust. This is the main reason why I like this book. Barely any Holocaust survivors’ books show what happens after the war was over. The writers will let you know that many years later they moved to another country such as United States, Israel, and England, but they won’t inform the readers about their life after the liberation. My Bridges of Hope shows how there’s still anti-Semitism around Europe. It shows how Elli and her family didn’t have a proper home because everything was taken from them and were basically nomads for six more years. It demonstrates that in spite of the fact that fighters from United States, Great Britain, and USSR liberated the Jews, they were not all saints. Many of them would catcall and rape girls around Europe. The second book displays the struggle of people immigrating to other countries. My Bridges of Hope is slightly an uncommon book with regards to the subject of the Holocaust. Elli tells the audience that she’s a Zionist implying that she supports the State of Israel. I have perused numerous books about this sort of subject yet never from a Zionist’s perspective. It was exceptionally fascinating to peruse about Jews’ ensembles and customs.
The reasons why I rated the Elli Friedmann series sort of low is on the grounds that it wasn’t intriguing. It’s more informative than anything else. It informs about the struggles that the Jews had to go through, but it wasn’t filled with emotion or anything like that. It had numerous energizing arrangements; however they were in some cases said with an extremely monotone character voice, which reduced a lot of their energy to spellbind. The reader literally learns nothing about Elli with the exception of the different focuses on the course of events of her life. I was amped up for this book in light of the fact that I had trusted it would give some sort of clarification in the matter of how she and the remaining individuals from her family started to recuperate from the past, however, nothing in respect. I feel like this series was more of a chronology than anything else; there were no feelings, no brokenness, nothing.
(If you want to read more about my review please visit fullofbooks.com)
March 15, 2018
Amazing! I feel that this book deserves more praise. This book true captured the real feeling of its time period. Even for a biography it really flows like story and is just as enjoyable. The only problem I had was when they talked about people and or places that you hadn't meet a yet.
September 29, 2013
My Bridges of Hope by Livia Bitton-Jackson, is about a girl named Elli Friedmann who has escaped the liberation camp with her mum and brother, but sadly her father has died. When she comes back to her home, it's torn and destroyed, since the Nazi's demolished it. Because of this incident, her mum, brother and Elli try to reassemble their lives in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Elli, and the rest of her family realize it's not safe and there is still some tension, they plan to flee Bratislava and set foot into America. It's not that easy though. Elli has to try to find a way to get them all out of there before it's too late!
Livia Bitton-Jackson puts in writing one of the best detailed and described memoir's ever. The biography is so engaging and Bitton-Jackson with out a doubt put you in Elli's shoes. It's a story told in 1st person. The author makes you feel that you are part of the story and surprised, excited, astonished, frightened, and many other feelings in this journey of Elli Friedmann.
This memoir, My Bridges of Hope, is about escaping and having new experiences, which Elli has, it's also about the Holocaust. I would recommend this book to people who like reading about the Nazi's invasion. I would also recommend this book to people who have read the first one about the liberation camp where Elli was sent to and who are interested what happens after Auschwitz, but you don't have to read the first book in order to have an understanding of the second book. Anyone will probably enjoy this book by Livia Bitton-Jackson. She is such a great author who really makes the story have a lot of suspense and come to life! You will never want to put the book down!
Livia Bitton-Jackson puts in writing one of the best detailed and described memoir's ever. The biography is so engaging and Bitton-Jackson with out a doubt put you in Elli's shoes. It's a story told in 1st person. The author makes you feel that you are part of the story and surprised, excited, astonished, frightened, and many other feelings in this journey of Elli Friedmann.
This memoir, My Bridges of Hope, is about escaping and having new experiences, which Elli has, it's also about the Holocaust. I would recommend this book to people who like reading about the Nazi's invasion. I would also recommend this book to people who have read the first one about the liberation camp where Elli was sent to and who are interested what happens after Auschwitz, but you don't have to read the first book in order to have an understanding of the second book. Anyone will probably enjoy this book by Livia Bitton-Jackson. She is such a great author who really makes the story have a lot of suspense and come to life! You will never want to put the book down!
May 21, 2012
My Bridges of Hope is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a compelling story about a girl and her family trying to pick up their life after the Holocaust. This book is so inspiring in so many ways. It shows you that it is never too late to start your life no matter what happens and that anything is possible. Livia Bitton-Jackson is an excellent writer and really knows how to tell her story. This is an amazing book that everybody should read.
This book is an autobiography about Ellie Friedmannova's life after aushwitz. When Ellie and her family find out that there father has died they know that they need to start a knew life. With all of the antisemitism that is still around they know they can't stay in Hungary which had become Czechoslovakia. Ellie becomes a teacher of a Jewish seminary and is a counselor for kids who became orphans during the war. When Ellie and her mom finally get there visas to go to America they are overjoyed. After about twenty years in America and starting a family Ellie gets divorced and moves to Israel.
This book can connect to my life through my grandparents. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors and met in displaced persons camps. They too had to get visas to come to America which was not easy. Although that Ellie and my grandparents both lived through something so tragic they were able to get back up and lead normal happy lives.
384 pages 2 books
This book is an autobiography about Ellie Friedmannova's life after aushwitz. When Ellie and her family find out that there father has died they know that they need to start a knew life. With all of the antisemitism that is still around they know they can't stay in Hungary which had become Czechoslovakia. Ellie becomes a teacher of a Jewish seminary and is a counselor for kids who became orphans during the war. When Ellie and her mom finally get there visas to go to America they are overjoyed. After about twenty years in America and starting a family Ellie gets divorced and moves to Israel.
This book can connect to my life through my grandparents. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors and met in displaced persons camps. They too had to get visas to come to America which was not easy. Although that Ellie and my grandparents both lived through something so tragic they were able to get back up and lead normal happy lives.
384 pages 2 books
August 14, 2012
I laughed and cried my way through this book. This is the second in a series of books by and about a Jewish girl who survived Auschwitz. The last book ended with her release from Auschwitz and I was so happy to see that there was another book. Often books end just when things get good and I like to see people happy for a while! However there wasn't as much happiness in this book as I expected. She still had a lot of difficulties to endure, especially trying to escape the Iron Curtain that was falling across Czechoslovakia. There is plenty of drama in this book that covers the next six years, ages 14-19. I am continually amazed at how mature she is for her age. I imagine this is a result of enduring Auschwitz. This book talks about her trying to be a "normal" person again or at least be able to interact with normal people. Not easy after all she had seen and experienced.
She talks about a very bizarre romantic situation and how confusing it was for her that everyone accepted it as normal. It was a lesson for me that sometimes it is necessary to speak out against wrong not just for the sake of the person doing the wrong, but for those watching, especially young people, who may be confused if everyone acts like nothing is wrong when it is. It's always easiest to ignore things, but it has its price tag.
Like the first book it was hard to put down.
She talks about a very bizarre romantic situation and how confusing it was for her that everyone accepted it as normal. It was a lesson for me that sometimes it is necessary to speak out against wrong not just for the sake of the person doing the wrong, but for those watching, especially young people, who may be confused if everyone acts like nothing is wrong when it is. It's always easiest to ignore things, but it has its price tag.
Like the first book it was hard to put down.
January 1, 2014
My Bridges of Hope I read this following Bitton-Jackson's remarkable "Elli," and wow, was I disappointed. While "Elli" has somewhat the feel of a YA book, it is never dumbed-down and never glossed over. "My Bridges of Hope" covers a longer time span, and perhaps that's part of the problem with it, but it feels mostly like a summary of the author's time following the Holocaust to her immigration to America. There are a couple chilling moments, some times when emotion peeks through the list of events, but overall there is something about the dialogue, the constant "my God" exclamations, that feels both exaggerated and over-dramatic. Although the events of the Holocaust were probably much more harrowing than the aftermath, the quiet remembrance of events, the writing itself, in Bitton-Jackson's first memoir evokes emotion in the reader - Bitton-Jackson mastered there the art of telling the emotional, dramatic story that she just didn't repeat here.It has its moments of beauty, but certainly not enough to make this worthwhile reading. Stop while you're ahead. Read "Elli" and skip this one.
May 1, 2016
I thought that this book was very good and kind of touching. I didn't know much about the Nazi and the war that was going on between them and the Jews, but after reading this book I completely understand how much pain people were going through along time ago.
This book is about a teenage girl who suffered the pain from the war between the Jews and the Nazi. She was one of the survivors from the crises. But even after the pain there was still more pain.Everything had changed, so many people had died, and many people had moved to a different country. Her mother, her brother, and her are trying to move to America but their having a hard time.
After years of waiting they said that her brother and her can go now but their mom is gone have to wait. SO her brother left but she stayed with her mom till she got her visa. They never gave her a mother a visa so they pretended to be from another country so that they will have a way of leaving to America.
This book is about a teenage girl who suffered the pain from the war between the Jews and the Nazi. She was one of the survivors from the crises. But even after the pain there was still more pain.Everything had changed, so many people had died, and many people had moved to a different country. Her mother, her brother, and her are trying to move to America but their having a hard time.
After years of waiting they said that her brother and her can go now but their mom is gone have to wait. SO her brother left but she stayed with her mom till she got her visa. They never gave her a mother a visa so they pretended to be from another country so that they will have a way of leaving to America.
August 4, 2020
I have not read Livia Bitton-Jackson's first book, I Have Lived a Thousand Years, but I've read enough accounts of Auschwitz to want to focus my attention on what happens to the survivors after the war is over. My Bridges of Hope covers the time from when Elli and her mother and brother return to their hometown, through the years it takes them to reach America. It was fascinating to read of the...chaos in Europe at the time, all the redrawn boundaries. Suddenly the school that Elli attended is in another country, suddenly it's Soviet occupied and everyone is taught Russian.
Elli is one of those young women with a gift for learning and languages, and who has remarkable determination and luck. Her story is incredible, and I recommend it if you're interested in post-war Europe especially. The book is written for a middle-grade audience, and it's an enjoyable read for adults as well.
Elli is one of those young women with a gift for learning and languages, and who has remarkable determination and luck. Her story is incredible, and I recommend it if you're interested in post-war Europe especially. The book is written for a middle-grade audience, and it's an enjoyable read for adults as well.
May 12, 2017
I enjoyed the book because it was cool finding about how someone lived through liberation from Auschwitz, and then she got her freedom. Elli, her brother, and their mother try to rebuild their lives in Czechoslovakia. After a while, Elli to realize that even though the war is over, anti-Semitism is not, so she and her family decide to escape to America along with a bunch of other Jews. Little do they know what agonies and adventures await them still. Elli's memoir of her experiences after Auschwitz will captivate readers as they follow her through heartache, frustration, adventure, excitement, love, and ultimately, triumph. My favorite part was when she had all the boys with her before she went away from her home town, they were helping her and treating her like a queen. I would recommend this book to Hayley Joray because I think that she would be interested in this book.
November 27, 2013
Elli has just jumped from a bear trap to another bear trap is how I would put it. From a concentration camp in Auschwitz, Elli has not gotten away from everything that she thought that she had left behind has all been thrown right in front of her again. So she has to start running all over again but this time she is not only with her family but with thousands of other Jews who are running to America. But even then they agonies stil await them ahead.
In the book we find out how she was able to get to America and how long it took her and we are shown what kind of living style they endure while living in there. We learn that struggles will always follow you where ever you are in the world if you were an immigrant Jew from Germany during the time of the holocaust
In the book we find out how she was able to get to America and how long it took her and we are shown what kind of living style they endure while living in there. We learn that struggles will always follow you where ever you are in the world if you were an immigrant Jew from Germany during the time of the holocaust
July 30, 2014
This sequel to I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust was well worth my time. I don't know much about the aftermath of WWII and the Holocuast, so it was very interesting to read about this segment of history as its typically glossed over in a short epilogue at the end of the typical holocaust/WWII survival story. I am looking forward to the next book, Hello, America: A Refugee's Journey from Auschwitz to the New World.
April 8, 2013
Quite befitting to its prequel "I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND YEARS" , this book has got all the elements in place . The struggle of the Jews post war , the tooth and nail fight for the their basic needs makes you aware that how difficult it must have been for them to even live . In spite of being liberated from the Nazis , they were tied down by other deterrent factors . The constant hunt for a land where they can claim to be their own, forms the heart wrenching backdrop of the story . The language is so lucid , it feels as if you are living in that time . An amazing writer , who successfully brings out essence of humanity even in the troubled times .
October 17, 2013
This is a sequel memoir to "I Have Lived a Thousand Years". While the first book tells of the author's experience in a concentration camp, this memoir tells a lesser told story of the immediate aftermath of what happened to people after liberation from the camps. This is the story of the survivors who returned to their homes empty-handed to find all of their possessions stolen by either the Germans or their neighbors. The author relays the experience of finding jobs, lone survivors without families yearning for an education, spending time in various refugee camps on long waiting lists to emigrate to Israel or America, and young love. A nice perspective of life after the war.
March 3, 2012
The author shares the years after she came out of Auschwitz as a 14 y.o. in 1945 until she and her mother arrived in the United States in 1951 to join her brother, who had been able to emigrate soon after the war. It's a testament to the resiliency of survivors, who continue to live in the uncertain world of post WWII Eastern Europe. She writes too of the establishment of Israel. I did a paper on the White Papers for a college history class, and it was interesting to read her account of news stories from the time.
September 10, 2012
This is one of the most amazing memoirs I have ever read. I laughed, cried, and felt almost every emotion I can think of. Livia has lived through more hard times, and struggled more than anyone should ever have to, all because she is Jewish. This story starts where here last book 'I Have Lived A Thousand Years', ends, with Livia and her mother returning home from Auschwitz. She is an amazing woman, and her stories filled my heart with faith in humanity. I hope her stories will help to make this world a more peaceful, and loving place.
Pretty much a perfect book.
September 20, 2013
I read the prequel to this book several years ago, describing Elli's experience during the Holocaust. I have a lot of respect for the author. She is incredibly educated and has a talent for writing, so I enjoy her work.
I haven't read much on Holocaust survivors after WWII, so it was interesting to follow her life even farther. I enjoy how reflective and thoughtful she is by nature, and that it comes out in her writing. I feel as though this book changed my perspective on life, and will leave a lasting impression... and I appreciate that in a book.
I haven't read much on Holocaust survivors after WWII, so it was interesting to follow her life even farther. I enjoy how reflective and thoughtful she is by nature, and that it comes out in her writing. I feel as though this book changed my perspective on life, and will leave a lasting impression... and I appreciate that in a book.
February 18, 2014
Probably more of a 2.5 star book really but I don't want to be mean. Interesting enough. The author writes about her life after the concentration camps before they manage to migrate to the U S. Lucky person I think to still have her mother and brother alive and some other relatives after the War. I did find it a bit amusing that she seemed to think every boy she met fancied her! And that her refusal of a marriage proposal sent one boy to the loony bin for ECT. Clearly a good sense of self even after terrible times.
March 26, 2012
this book was pretty interesting but it was not the best book I have ever read. It was apretty long book but if you are really into the people from concentration camps then it would be a good book. This book talks about a young girl's life after a concentration camp and how life is after you have been through such a bad situation.I would recomend this book to people who like reading and like reading about people from concentration camps.
April 9, 2014
This is the continuing story of Elli (the author) as she faces life after concentration camp. It's incredible to hear her first-hand account of what it took to get back home, how she and her family were welcomed back, and the harrowing account of her family's escape from communism and continuing antisemitism. It's amazing to read through her account and continue to see her lively spirit pushing her to overcome while also showing glimpses of the teenager she still was. Well worth reading.
February 4, 2018
This book is about life for a Jewish refuge after World War II. The author, her brother and her mother have survived the Nazi Concentration camps and now are trying to join relatives in America. They returned to Czechoslovakia and must go through many other countries and wait almost 6 years to make it to their destination. I have read many books that focus on the Jewish experience during the war, but this is my first that really focuses on what happened after the war. I found it fascinating.
June 18, 2013
I couldn't believe all that this young woman had been through/accomplished in her young life. Her courage and perseverance was astounding.
Truly, this book leaves me speechless and hopeful. Livia Bitton-Jackson was a beautiful woman full of goodness and grace, and I'm honored to have read these words.
Truly, this book leaves me speechless and hopeful. Livia Bitton-Jackson was a beautiful woman full of goodness and grace, and I'm honored to have read these words.
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