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Tatae's Promise: Based on the true story of a young woman’s escape from Auschwitz
This never-before-told true story of a young woman's escape from Auschwitz with her sister is a remarkable tale of unimaginable courage, family, faith and enduring love.
"...readers will admire Hinda's devotion to her family and her determination to resist her Nazi captors as they attempt to dehumanize her. There's also a remarkable love story at the heart of this novel—a relationship that will surprise and delight readers for its ability to withstand the most terrible of circumstances... A moving work..." ─Kirkus Reviews
Hinda was eighteen years old when an axe crashed through the front door of her home in Poland. Nazi soldiers swarmed inside and herded the family into an army truck and hauled them away for one lone They were Jews. World War II and the Hitler-induced Holocaust was in full swing.
"With its added value of emotional and atmospheric richness, Tatae's Promise is a 'must have' acquisition for any library looking at high-quality fiction and nonfiction accounts of Polish Jewish history, concentration camp experience, and the power of survival. These explorations will also attract book clubs interested in selecting and contrasting a few quality titles on all these subjects, powered by an oral history that comes to life through solid literary excellence and collaborative determination. ─Midwest Book Review
"Hinda Mondlak's story is nothing short of extraordinary... Inspired by her father's promise and last words to her just before his execution—'You will live; you will tell'—this riveting adaptation urgently demands only one thing from we must listen!"
─Eli Rubenstein, religious leader, Congregation Habonim Toronto; National director, March of the Living Canada; director, International March of the Living; Appointed to the "Order of Canada" by the Governor General of Canada
"This moving and suspenseful book tells the story of Hinda Mondlak, who escaped from Auschwitz with her sister. Based on hours of her taped testimony, it describes in rich detail every phase of the persecutions she endured—Nazi occupation, the village ghetto, the death journey to Auschwitz, beatings, illness, starvation, escape, and then a harrowing flight from Russian troops. Saved occasionally through the unexpected kindness of others and always by her own courage, Hinda is vividly alive in this reweaving of her memories. A memorable story of resilience and enduring love."
─Betty Sue Flowers, PhD, Professor Emeritus UT-Austin; former director, Johnson Presidential Library, Editor, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth
"As a student of the Holocaust and one who interviewed Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah History Foundation, I thought I had heard it all. Now, I know I was wrong. This is not your ordinary Holocaust story. Do yourself a favor. Find out for yourself."
─Mike O'Krent, Founder and CEO, LifeStories Alive; Holocaust survivors interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah History Foundation
"Reading Tatae's Promise was a captivating and a perspective altering experience for me. The authors skillfully wove together several personal, historical, psychological, medical, political, cultural, and religious threads into a meaningful whole. This book should be on every recommended reading list.
"...readers will admire Hinda's devotion to her family and her determination to resist her Nazi captors as they attempt to dehumanize her. There's also a remarkable love story at the heart of this novel—a relationship that will surprise and delight readers for its ability to withstand the most terrible of circumstances... A moving work..." ─Kirkus Reviews
Hinda was eighteen years old when an axe crashed through the front door of her home in Poland. Nazi soldiers swarmed inside and herded the family into an army truck and hauled them away for one lone They were Jews. World War II and the Hitler-induced Holocaust was in full swing.
"With its added value of emotional and atmospheric richness, Tatae's Promise is a 'must have' acquisition for any library looking at high-quality fiction and nonfiction accounts of Polish Jewish history, concentration camp experience, and the power of survival. These explorations will also attract book clubs interested in selecting and contrasting a few quality titles on all these subjects, powered by an oral history that comes to life through solid literary excellence and collaborative determination. ─Midwest Book Review
"Hinda Mondlak's story is nothing short of extraordinary... Inspired by her father's promise and last words to her just before his execution—'You will live; you will tell'—this riveting adaptation urgently demands only one thing from we must listen!"
─Eli Rubenstein, religious leader, Congregation Habonim Toronto; National director, March of the Living Canada; director, International March of the Living; Appointed to the "Order of Canada" by the Governor General of Canada
"This moving and suspenseful book tells the story of Hinda Mondlak, who escaped from Auschwitz with her sister. Based on hours of her taped testimony, it describes in rich detail every phase of the persecutions she endured—Nazi occupation, the village ghetto, the death journey to Auschwitz, beatings, illness, starvation, escape, and then a harrowing flight from Russian troops. Saved occasionally through the unexpected kindness of others and always by her own courage, Hinda is vividly alive in this reweaving of her memories. A memorable story of resilience and enduring love."
─Betty Sue Flowers, PhD, Professor Emeritus UT-Austin; former director, Johnson Presidential Library, Editor, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth
"As a student of the Holocaust and one who interviewed Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah History Foundation, I thought I had heard it all. Now, I know I was wrong. This is not your ordinary Holocaust story. Do yourself a favor. Find out for yourself."
─Mike O'Krent, Founder and CEO, LifeStories Alive; Holocaust survivors interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah History Foundation
"Reading Tatae's Promise was a captivating and a perspective altering experience for me. The authors skillfully wove together several personal, historical, psychological, medical, political, cultural, and religious threads into a meaningful whole. This book should be on every recommended reading list.
750 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2023
130 people are currently reading
467 people want to read
About the author
Sherry Maysonave
3 books10 followersAn accomplished author and motivational speaker, Sherry Maysonave has been interviewed by over 200 TV, Radio, and print publications across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. This includes multiple appearances on NBC's Today, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NPR radio. Sherry has been featured in USA Today, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, InStyle, and BusinessWeek.
Passionate about helping others achieve success, Sherry is the founder and president of Empowerment Enterprises and Empowerment Productions. Her clients include business professionals as well as nationally known political figures and entertainers. Her corporate clients are wide-ranging, including US and international companies in technology, finance, fashion, law, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and professional-services companies.
Most recently, Sherry’s first historical-fiction book, "Tatae’s Promise: You will live… you will tell," co-authored with Moises J. Goldman, was published in September 2023. It is based upon a true, never-before-told story of a young Jewish woman, Hinda Mondlak, and her daring escape from Auschwitz.
In 1999, Sherry’s very first book, Casual Power (nonfiction), quickly became an Amazon category best-seller. She is also the author and producer of the DVD series, Brand a Positive Business Image.
After retiring from the corporate circuit in 2013, Sherry felt a clarion call to express her creativity and write outside the nonfiction genre. Her first children’s book, an Apple i-book, —EggMania: Where’s the Egg in Exactly?— won five awards. Sherry’s debut novel, The Girl Who Could Read Hearts, has garnered fifteen awards, including Gold Medal in the 2017 Readers’ Favorite International Awards.
Sherry has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from East Texas State University, now known as Texas A&M University—Commerce. She has studied psychology at the graduate level, and she has multiple credentials in image, communication, and personal development.
Sherry and her husband, Stephen, live on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. They both enjoy spending time with their seven grandchildren, traveling, and participating in angel investments that support social-impact companies.
For more information, go to sherrymaysonave.com
Passionate about helping others achieve success, Sherry is the founder and president of Empowerment Enterprises and Empowerment Productions. Her clients include business professionals as well as nationally known political figures and entertainers. Her corporate clients are wide-ranging, including US and international companies in technology, finance, fashion, law, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and professional-services companies.
Most recently, Sherry’s first historical-fiction book, "Tatae’s Promise: You will live… you will tell," co-authored with Moises J. Goldman, was published in September 2023. It is based upon a true, never-before-told story of a young Jewish woman, Hinda Mondlak, and her daring escape from Auschwitz.
In 1999, Sherry’s very first book, Casual Power (nonfiction), quickly became an Amazon category best-seller. She is also the author and producer of the DVD series, Brand a Positive Business Image.
After retiring from the corporate circuit in 2013, Sherry felt a clarion call to express her creativity and write outside the nonfiction genre. Her first children’s book, an Apple i-book, —EggMania: Where’s the Egg in Exactly?— won five awards. Sherry’s debut novel, The Girl Who Could Read Hearts, has garnered fifteen awards, including Gold Medal in the 2017 Readers’ Favorite International Awards.
Sherry has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from East Texas State University, now known as Texas A&M University—Commerce. She has studied psychology at the graduate level, and she has multiple credentials in image, communication, and personal development.
Sherry and her husband, Stephen, live on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. They both enjoy spending time with their seven grandchildren, traveling, and participating in angel investments that support social-impact companies.
For more information, go to sherrymaysonave.com
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October 14, 2023“Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”- Winston Churchill
This is the true story of Hinda Mondlak, a woman who managed to escape Auschwitz with her sister-and lived to tell the tale. Hinda was 18 at the time Nazi soldiers invaded her home in Poland. Along with her family, Hinda was taken away by soldiers and forced to endure unspeakable acts that brave survivors have somehow found the courage to speak of in the aftermath. All of her family, however, was not so lucky.
Hinda’s story was largely taken from voice recordings she recorded prior to her death-recordings that were used as testimony to the atrocities she endured while captured. Detailing her long and painful journey through persecution, illness, and beatings, to her ultimate escape to freedom- this is an understandably long and painfully detailed read. Naturally, due to its horrifying nature (and now, equally horrifying relevance) this book, while important, is also very hard to digest.
Particularly devastating is when you put this memoir’s journey into perspective. Hinda’s story is just one of the countless Holocaust survivors who managed to not only survive, but inspire in the years to follow. And yet…we have just skimmed the surface of the horrors they lived through, something so incomprehensible and tragic to fully imagine from the outside looking in.
I would recommend this book to readers who can stomach its accounts in light of recent world events. When I first agreed to read and review Tatae’s Promise, I had no idea that this tragic story’s undertones would begin to ring true again in present day. My heart goes out to all the innocent victims, and those whose lives they touched, both then and now.
Thank you to Dart Frog Books for allowing me to share such an important story in history at such a crucial time in the present.
This is the true story of Hinda Mondlak, a woman who managed to escape Auschwitz with her sister-and lived to tell the tale. Hinda was 18 at the time Nazi soldiers invaded her home in Poland. Along with her family, Hinda was taken away by soldiers and forced to endure unspeakable acts that brave survivors have somehow found the courage to speak of in the aftermath. All of her family, however, was not so lucky.
Hinda’s story was largely taken from voice recordings she recorded prior to her death-recordings that were used as testimony to the atrocities she endured while captured. Detailing her long and painful journey through persecution, illness, and beatings, to her ultimate escape to freedom- this is an understandably long and painfully detailed read. Naturally, due to its horrifying nature (and now, equally horrifying relevance) this book, while important, is also very hard to digest.
Particularly devastating is when you put this memoir’s journey into perspective. Hinda’s story is just one of the countless Holocaust survivors who managed to not only survive, but inspire in the years to follow. And yet…we have just skimmed the surface of the horrors they lived through, something so incomprehensible and tragic to fully imagine from the outside looking in.
I would recommend this book to readers who can stomach its accounts in light of recent world events. When I first agreed to read and review Tatae’s Promise, I had no idea that this tragic story’s undertones would begin to ring true again in present day. My heart goes out to all the innocent victims, and those whose lives they touched, both then and now.
Thank you to Dart Frog Books for allowing me to share such an important story in history at such a crucial time in the present.
January 8, 2024
Gripping from beginning to end, a survival story like I haven’t read before
October 10, 2023
The dirt coated every inch of her skin, the sun pounded down on her shoulders, the heat unbearable at times. Sweat poured from her brow, but still she trudged forward. If she didn’t push herself she’d never make it… death waited for her, but she must carry on.
Tatae’s Promise is a historical fiction (but based on a true story and written more like a nonfiction/memoir) following Hinda and her will to endure and survive the horrors of WWII.
Wow… I truly have no words after reading this…
A heartbreaking story, compelling, horrific, engaging, jaw-dropping. My heart hurt while reading about Hinda’s survival. This was such a hard read… so so hard… but so worth the time to take in Hinda’s story. The amount of time and research that went into this book is clearly shown and the afterword at the end that talked about the fiction mixed in with the true stories from Hinda’s voice records… it just brought everything into a brighter light for me as the reader.
This is a powerful book, one that is so relevant to what is happening in the world right now. A must read!
CW: Death, Murder, Violence, Genocide, War (and everything that comes with that), Antisemitism.
Tatae’s Promise is a historical fiction (but based on a true story and written more like a nonfiction/memoir) following Hinda and her will to endure and survive the horrors of WWII.
Wow… I truly have no words after reading this…
A heartbreaking story, compelling, horrific, engaging, jaw-dropping. My heart hurt while reading about Hinda’s survival. This was such a hard read… so so hard… but so worth the time to take in Hinda’s story. The amount of time and research that went into this book is clearly shown and the afterword at the end that talked about the fiction mixed in with the true stories from Hinda’s voice records… it just brought everything into a brighter light for me as the reader.
This is a powerful book, one that is so relevant to what is happening in the world right now. A must read!
CW: Death, Murder, Violence, Genocide, War (and everything that comes with that), Antisemitism.
September 14, 2023
This book is an amazing true story about the tragedy of the holocaust and an extraordinarily courageous woman’s determination to fulfill a promise to her father survive and tell the story. What she and her family (along with millions of other families) had to endure was pure evil. Hinda Mondlack’s journey through the holocaust is also an inspirational story of love, sacrifice, and endurance. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
December 27, 2023
“Tatae’s Promise: Based on the True Story of a Young Woman’s Escape from Auschwitz” is a deeply sobering text written by Sherry Maysonave and co-authored by Moises J. Goldman. As the Nazi’s terrifying wind of death, totalitarianism, and mayhem swirled across Europe, it did not spare Hinda Mondlak’s home in Zieluñ, East Central Poland, a large Jewish farming community. A stirring biography at its best, the text tells the story of eighteen-year-old Hinda, as the Nazi occupation takes hold of Poland, the beginning of the Jewish persecution, and how the fabric of her close-knit family eventually gets torn apart.
Based on Hinda’s recorded tapes taken years ago, the book documents the harrowing events that followed. These include her family’s tormenting stay at the overcrowded village ghetto designed for segregating Jews and the torturous march to the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, in extreme winter conditions. These disturbing experiences among others were consequently followed by her eventual escape with her sister from this agonizing death zone. Hinda survives death many times as she grapples with starvation, cruel beatings, illness, and a near-death experience escaping the advancing Russian troops. As she tries to keep her sanity which was out of reach for many who experienced these brutalities, her constant pillar of hope was her father’s last words, whom she fondly called Tatae. Her father knew he was about to face his execution and wrote a short letter to her in jail, hoping it would get to her and encourage her that she would live to tell the story.
Poignant and heartfelt, “Tatae’s Promise” is a brave and captivating story. Filled with heart and soul, it is told with the flair and finesse of a true novelist. The well-polished details told through the lenses of a victim of the Nazi’s ruthless menace had me experiencing the assault and pain that those affected including Hinda and her family went through, evoking a series of emotions within me. Ultimately, her fierce tenacity and unbreakable spirit amidst it all and her eventual freedom won my heart as it will many others. This is a tale of survival, heroism, and a true embodiment of the resilience of the human spirit.
This triumphant in-and-out-of-the-trenches biography is an undeniable winner. Written by Moises J. Goldman, Hinda’s son, in honor of his mother, and accomplished author, Sherry Maysonave, this is a story that will have you go back to dig up the nuances you may have missed during the first reading. I could not put it down until I was done. The writing is coherent and incisive, with superb prose. Put simply, “Tatae’s Promise: Based on the True Story of a Young Woman’s Escape from Auschwitz” is an utterly compelling book and is one not to be missed.
Based on Hinda’s recorded tapes taken years ago, the book documents the harrowing events that followed. These include her family’s tormenting stay at the overcrowded village ghetto designed for segregating Jews and the torturous march to the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, in extreme winter conditions. These disturbing experiences among others were consequently followed by her eventual escape with her sister from this agonizing death zone. Hinda survives death many times as she grapples with starvation, cruel beatings, illness, and a near-death experience escaping the advancing Russian troops. As she tries to keep her sanity which was out of reach for many who experienced these brutalities, her constant pillar of hope was her father’s last words, whom she fondly called Tatae. Her father knew he was about to face his execution and wrote a short letter to her in jail, hoping it would get to her and encourage her that she would live to tell the story.
Poignant and heartfelt, “Tatae’s Promise” is a brave and captivating story. Filled with heart and soul, it is told with the flair and finesse of a true novelist. The well-polished details told through the lenses of a victim of the Nazi’s ruthless menace had me experiencing the assault and pain that those affected including Hinda and her family went through, evoking a series of emotions within me. Ultimately, her fierce tenacity and unbreakable spirit amidst it all and her eventual freedom won my heart as it will many others. This is a tale of survival, heroism, and a true embodiment of the resilience of the human spirit.
This triumphant in-and-out-of-the-trenches biography is an undeniable winner. Written by Moises J. Goldman, Hinda’s son, in honor of his mother, and accomplished author, Sherry Maysonave, this is a story that will have you go back to dig up the nuances you may have missed during the first reading. I could not put it down until I was done. The writing is coherent and incisive, with superb prose. Put simply, “Tatae’s Promise: Based on the True Story of a Young Woman’s Escape from Auschwitz” is an utterly compelling book and is one not to be missed.
October 26, 2024
This was an excellent book on the atrocities the victims of the Holocaust faced while at various camps in German held territory. The story revolves around two young sisters, Hinda and Rachel, as they attempt to stay alive and stay together in Auschwitz. As the eldest, Hinda, had been given instructions from her father to stay alive and tell what happened as well as to be both mother and father to her younger sisters. She was able to snatch Rachel from another line into her own at the first selection while Sara was too far from them for Hinda to get. Keeping Sara's death from Rachel was only one of the burdens Hinda carried about her family.
The author does not sugar-coat what happened to the girls in the camp, in fact, she is brutally accurate in parts. How the girls managed to survive some of the beatings they were given is beyond comprehension.
How Wolf managed to survive before being arrested by the Nazis shows just how the native people would help and would not help. Wolf ended up in Buchenwald where he and his brother barely survived to be freed.
Hinda and Rachel were among the 200 documented escapes from Auschwitz. That is those who escaped and were not caught nor killed as a result of their escaping. Most of those escaping were young men and definitely not women.
The book was excellent and is highly recommended.
The author does not sugar-coat what happened to the girls in the camp, in fact, she is brutally accurate in parts. How the girls managed to survive some of the beatings they were given is beyond comprehension.
How Wolf managed to survive before being arrested by the Nazis shows just how the native people would help and would not help. Wolf ended up in Buchenwald where he and his brother barely survived to be freed.
Hinda and Rachel were among the 200 documented escapes from Auschwitz. That is those who escaped and were not caught nor killed as a result of their escaping. Most of those escaping were young men and definitely not women.
The book was excellent and is highly recommended.
October 10, 2023
This is essentially a memoir (written by Hinda’s son and coauthor using 11 hours of voice recordings after her death), and there’s no possible way to rate it anything other than a five. It is long. It is HARD. And I read it over a cruelly relevant weekend which only contributed to…everything but wow. I felt so much reading this. It was ridiculously difficult to keep reading at times, but I simultaneously felt like I owed it to Hinda, Rachel, and Wolf to read every.single.word. What I appreciated the most about this “based on a true story” historical fiction is how very much *wasn’t* fictional. It was so truly daunting, disturbing, heartbreaking (yet…wholly compelling) at times that it read as any other fictional Holocaust novel and I constantly wondered what was truth and what was “for the reader”. The afterword that broke down the facts vs. added fictionalization was SO appreciated and honestly? I’m still in shock that the vast (and most important) majority was fact directly from Hinda’s personal voice recordings. If able to have *one* “complaint”? I’d have loved another picture or two; I was thrilled to see Hinda’s included, but photos of Rachel and Wolf would have been wonderful too. Dartfrog Books, thank you for this one. Thank you so much.
October 15, 2023
I cannot imagine the daunting task of writing this book from tapes that had been recorded in two combined languages and then researched deeply. Yet still composed so perfectly that it then made me, the reader, almost feel that I was a hovering observer at the very time each horrid, hopeful or wonderful thing was happening and somehow able to feel every single emotion as Hinda did.
I think it was due to a combination of the writer's skills, the completion of the translations that the loving son put together for the writer as a starting point, and then most importantly, Hinda's determination herself that created the magic that is this story of hope, survival, and most importantly, warning of things that never should be again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily in great hope that others will also read it and find the same depths and heights of emotion as I did, and help to ensure this sort of thing does not happen again EVER. That is the whole point of this story.
I think it was due to a combination of the writer's skills, the completion of the translations that the loving son put together for the writer as a starting point, and then most importantly, Hinda's determination herself that created the magic that is this story of hope, survival, and most importantly, warning of things that never should be again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily in great hope that others will also read it and find the same depths and heights of emotion as I did, and help to ensure this sort of thing does not happen again EVER. That is the whole point of this story.
October 10, 2023
As Sherry's spouse, I am biased. Therefore, I'll let two expert reviewers speak for me:
“This moving and suspenseful book tells the story of Hinda Mondlak, who escaped from Auschwitz with her sister... Saved occasionally through the unexpected kindness of others and always by her own courage, Hinda is vividly alive in this reweaving of her memories. A memorable story of resilience and enduring love.”
Betty Sue Flowers, PhD, Professor Emeritus UT-Austin, former Director, Johnson Presidential Library,
Editor, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth
*****
“Tatae’s Promise is a tribute that penetrates our heart deeply. Let us learn this story and teach it to our own children.”
Neil F. Blumofe, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Agudas Achim, Austin, Texas
“This moving and suspenseful book tells the story of Hinda Mondlak, who escaped from Auschwitz with her sister... Saved occasionally through the unexpected kindness of others and always by her own courage, Hinda is vividly alive in this reweaving of her memories. A memorable story of resilience and enduring love.”
Betty Sue Flowers, PhD, Professor Emeritus UT-Austin, former Director, Johnson Presidential Library,
Editor, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth
*****
“Tatae’s Promise is a tribute that penetrates our heart deeply. Let us learn this story and teach it to our own children.”
Neil F. Blumofe, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Agudas Achim, Austin, Texas
August 24, 2024
This rates as one of the best of many Holocaust books I have read. Before Hinda died she recorded 11 tapes of 45 minutes each of her story so much of the over 500 pages is verbatim. Five years of the story are brutal to read. Full of insidious cruelty and cold blooded heartless acts to mutilate and torture and kill. I had to take breaks but Hinda and her family need honored in the reading of this book. It shook my soul. My spirits plummeted and rose as they endured grossly inhumane atrocities, asking where is God? Is he paralyzed? Does he not hear us? And then now and then a brush with holiness. Divine intervention. And they kept their faith and dignity and incredible trust in God. I was emotionally spent by the end but changed. Impacted for life .
October 16, 2023
This was absolutely a powerful story that needed to be told and one I am so glad that I read. I could not put it down. It was the story of Hinda Mondlak, who escaped from Auschwitz with her sister. Her father's one wish for her was that "You will live. You will tell." And that she did. Hours of voice recordings retelling her story made this book. It was very detailed, harrowing and unimaginable. It's one I think everyone should read.
February 4, 2024
Powerful words from a father to his daughter, and the mantra and promise that kept Hinda Mondlak alive, while also keeping her sister alive, during the years of the Holocaust.
Besides the seven older Mondllak siblings who emigrated to Mexico and New York before the war, Hinda and her sister are the only survivors of the family that stayed in Poland, mostly because of her wit and her smart decisions but also with luck and kindness of strangers.
This book is an extraordinary account of the resilience and desire to live of a young woman and the power of a promise made to her father, to of her siblings and to live and tell. The fact that she and her sister escaped from Auschwitz and survived is an example of her strong commitment to her and her sister’s survival.
Written as a first person account of the horrors suffered by the Mondlak family, the book will stay with you even after finishing reading it.
I also want to comment on the cover of the book, hardly have I ever had such a strong reaction to a cover as I had with this one. The spoons and the Star of David sent such a powerful message of resilience and defiance that sets the tone of the book even before opening the first page of the book. It is simply astonishing.
This is one book that must be read.
Besides the seven older Mondllak siblings who emigrated to Mexico and New York before the war, Hinda and her sister are the only survivors of the family that stayed in Poland, mostly because of her wit and her smart decisions but also with luck and kindness of strangers.
This book is an extraordinary account of the resilience and desire to live of a young woman and the power of a promise made to her father, to of her siblings and to live and tell. The fact that she and her sister escaped from Auschwitz and survived is an example of her strong commitment to her and her sister’s survival.
Written as a first person account of the horrors suffered by the Mondlak family, the book will stay with you even after finishing reading it.
I also want to comment on the cover of the book, hardly have I ever had such a strong reaction to a cover as I had with this one. The spoons and the Star of David sent such a powerful message of resilience and defiance that sets the tone of the book even before opening the first page of the book. It is simply astonishing.
This is one book that must be read.
January 29, 2025
This book was incredible!! Very gripping true story of a extremely dark time in history. This book tore my heart apart at the barbaric, inhumane atrocities that occurred. Yet, at the same time, it stirred so many other deep feelings as I read about the amazing inner strength, courage, and faith these beautiful people had in order to persevere and survive. Highly recommend this book!!
August 13, 2024
I was a little nervous about this one after receiving a copy from someone who knows the author personally. (I started a different book this summer just because I had met the author—it was my first DNF in a decade and was a top contender for worst book I've ever stumbled across.)
I should have had more faith. This story was compelling, enlightening, and—importantly—well-written. I think I've read first-person accounts of the Holocaust before, but this felt like a new perspective from inside Auschwitz.
Would recommend to anyone in the right headspace for a concentration camp story peppered with likable characters, moments of hope, and eventual triumphs
I should have had more faith. This story was compelling, enlightening, and—importantly—well-written. I think I've read first-person accounts of the Holocaust before, but this felt like a new perspective from inside Auschwitz.
Would recommend to anyone in the right headspace for a concentration camp story peppered with likable characters, moments of hope, and eventual triumphs
November 3, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was written by a local Austin resident with a writer where they told the story about his mother escape from Auschwitz’s and her life. I recommend this book. It is a little long, but worth it. I found out about this book from one of Moses’ neighbors here in Austin if you like historical fiction, you will enjoy it.
October 5, 2024
Incredibly powerful, often hard to read about the horrific atrocities of the Holocaust, life in the ghetto and Auschwitz concentration camp. Hinda Mondale and her younger sister Rachel, not only survive Auschwitz, but escaped. While still imprisoned by the Nazi’s in the ghetto in Poland, Hinda and Rachel’s dad (Tatae in Yiddish) told Hinda, that she would survive the atrocities of the Nazi regime and she must tell the story so the world would know.
I’ve read many books on the Holocaust and, this is one of the most difficult to read. I feel it so vitally important, to read these books, these testimonies of the Holocaust. Especially, during these present times with so much antisemitism in the world we must “Never Forget.”
I’ve read many books on the Holocaust and, this is one of the most difficult to read. I feel it so vitally important, to read these books, these testimonies of the Holocaust. Especially, during these present times with so much antisemitism in the world we must “Never Forget.”
October 11, 2024
I GIVE VERY FEW BOOKS 5 STARS BUT HERES ONE FOR YOU. IT IS EXCELLENT… IT’S WORTH READING. It’s a long book but definitely achievable. Chapter are short and easy to follow.
August 4, 2024
Hinda Mondlak was a woman strong of heart, love and grace. Mostly she was strong willed and she willed herself to survive to tell her story. As difficult as it was to read, it was even harder to imagine living such atrocities. It was my obligation to know the telling of her story in Tatae’s Promise. If this story doesn’t effectively change you, what kind of life are you living? I feel grateful for not having to share the experiences the author has shared. The evil that exists in humans that is perpetuated onto other human beings is utterly incomprehensible. Thankfully, if you find evil, goodness exists in large and small ways and this can help us endure.
January 23, 2024
A story that will haunt you
I have spent the last fifty years studying the holocaust and have been a docent at a holocaust museum in FL. During that time I have read hundreds of memoirs but few have affected me as Tatar’s Promise has. The author took us into Hinda’s mind and made the decisions she made, under horrific conditions, understandable but frightening nonetheless. I could not put this book down. I only wish there was another book coming that told more about their lives. Bravo to Sherry Maysonave! So happy Hinda’s son found you.
I have spent the last fifty years studying the holocaust and have been a docent at a holocaust museum in FL. During that time I have read hundreds of memoirs but few have affected me as Tatar’s Promise has. The author took us into Hinda’s mind and made the decisions she made, under horrific conditions, understandable but frightening nonetheless. I could not put this book down. I only wish there was another book coming that told more about their lives. Bravo to Sherry Maysonave! So happy Hinda’s son found you.
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July 24, 2024Gut wrenching, sad, spiritual! Spielberg, Jolie, anybody wanting to make a tough but inspirational movie!!! These people are the strongest people ever!!! May god bless their surviving families.
February 17, 2025
One of my favorite genre’s is WW2 fiction. I have read countless fiction based on fact books about the horrors that occurred under the Nazi’s during WW2. This must be the best I have read, and what makes it better is that it was true. I am in awe of Hinda and her sister’s will to live and survive to tell their story. I also, have a lot of respect for her son, Moises, for having the strength to listen to his mother’s recordings and share her story. This is a MUST read for anyone who is interested in WW2 and the unjust treatment of the Jews under the Nazi regime. I would give it 10 stars were it an option. Thank you to Moises and Sherry for taking the time to share this story. And thank you to Hinda, for recording your story. You did live, and You did tell. Thank you!
January 29, 2024
This book was hard to read at times, due to the pain and suffering that was inflicted on so many, including Hinda and Rachel. But this book also must be read, for those very same reasons.
The stories told by Hinda about the persecution, starvation, torture, etc. were gut wrenching and soul crushing, but the perseverance they showed was truly incredible. Even after their escape from Auschwitz, they still had so much they had to endure until their lives finally stabilized.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who really wants to get a feel for what happened during this time.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The stories told by Hinda about the persecution, starvation, torture, etc. were gut wrenching and soul crushing, but the perseverance they showed was truly incredible. Even after their escape from Auschwitz, they still had so much they had to endure until their lives finally stabilized.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who really wants to get a feel for what happened during this time.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 15, 2026
This is a book I would never have chosen to read on my own, but it was my book club selection for this month, and the author was invited to come to our discussion. It is the powerful true story of Hinda Mondlak and her sister, Rachel, and how they miraculously survived and later escaped from the brutal and sadistic Auschwitz concentration camp. The author, Sherry Maysonave, was given 11 audio tapes by Hinda’s son, Moises Goldman, that his mother had recorded the year before she passed away in 1985. Her last wish was for Moises to tell her horrific and ultimately triumphant story in a public way. Hinda’s father, whom she called Tatae, wrote a note to her before he died with a promise: “You will live. And you will tell”. Hinda’s courage and determination to survive resulted in an incredible book that was difficult to put down, and one I will certainly never forget.
June 27, 2024
This is a spell-binding , can’t put it down kind of book—once you get past the atrocious purple prose. I had to check to see if the book had editors. It does, but they must have gotten so caught up in the gripping story they forgot to do their job. “She felt the heat of the immense blaze spread through her dorsal vertebrae.” “A rhapsodic feeling curled her lips upward into a smile.” —the author knows how to weave a powerful narrative but good editing would make this good book great.
February 27, 2024
One of the best Holocaust stories I've read !
This book snares you like a fast paced novel and won't let go. I couldn't put it down! It was horrifying to acknowledge just how much evil man can invent for the sake of brutality toward another man. I can't believe Hinda survived it all. You need a cup of coffee for this one. Get ready for a gut thumping, nail biting story.
This book snares you like a fast paced novel and won't let go. I couldn't put it down! It was horrifying to acknowledge just how much evil man can invent for the sake of brutality toward another man. I can't believe Hinda survived it all. You need a cup of coffee for this one. Get ready for a gut thumping, nail biting story.
July 18, 2024
Wonderful Story
Reading this book was an eye opening experience. I have read many books about WW2 & the Holocaust, but Tatae's Promise told me about the horrors experienced by the Nazi victims. Such BRAVE people to endure so much pain & indignity. This is a book I will never forget
Reading this book was an eye opening experience. I have read many books about WW2 & the Holocaust, but Tatae's Promise told me about the horrors experienced by the Nazi victims. Such BRAVE people to endure so much pain & indignity. This is a book I will never forget
November 22, 2024
Tatae's Promise is Hinda Mondlak's story of survival in one of the worst periods of cruelty and degradation inflicted on mankind. Her determination to not only survive but to save her sister is remarkable when so many were dying each day around them. Sherry Maysonave's masterful storytelling brings us into Hinda's struggles and allows us to celebrate her ability to survive. A must read.
January 20, 2026
Incredible Story of Survival in the Most Inhumane Conditions
The quality of the writing is top notch. The subject is a difficult read but so rich in detail. It's an amazing testament to the human spirit and its capacity to endure suffering. Everyone should read this book to ensure that great evil must be rejected at all costs.
The quality of the writing is top notch. The subject is a difficult read but so rich in detail. It's an amazing testament to the human spirit and its capacity to endure suffering. Everyone should read this book to ensure that great evil must be rejected at all costs.
May 2, 2024
This gripping true story will never be forgotten. My friend's husband, Moises, translated his mother's audio tapes describing her family's horrific years during WWII. I am holding a book signing for Moises and Sherry, the other co-author, at our Church in Austin. People need to read this book!
December 27, 2024
Incredible and important story, but absolutely heart-wrenching and horrifying. Hinda’s strength, cleverness, courage, and instincts are inspiring. Important reminder of the evil humans are capable of and the gratefulness we need to have for our freedom and blessings.
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