A Distant Heartbeat: A War, a Disappearance, and a Family's Secrets

by Eunice Lipton

On May 20, 1938, a young man from the Bronx informs his parents that he is leaving for the Catskills to begin his new job as a waiter. Instead, he sails for Europe to join the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, the opening round in the fight against Hitler and Mussolini. The man, Dave Lipton--the author's uncle--sends letter after letter home detailing his hopes and begging for forgiveness. He never receives a reply. Decades later, Eunice Lipton stumbles upon clues for this silence, uncovering details of Dave's exhilarating political life in New York, his shuttered romantic life, and his deep friendship with another volunteer. A Distant Heartbeat tells a tale of passion and heroism, centered on a fierce competition between brothers, a packet of missing letters, and the unforeseen results of family betrayal.

Genres: Memoir

176 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2016

Reviews

[Debs · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. I'm not entirely sure why this memoir ended up rubbing me the wrong way; perhaps it was the insistence of Lipton as presenting her personal quest as a tale of mystery and intrigue that would be equally enticing to a reader not related to her. The best thing about this memoir is that it sparked and interest in me to learn more about the involvement of Americans in the Spanish Civil War, a topic I do not believe was addressed at all during my education, public or otherwise.

[Mary Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War and why thousands of American youth joined the fight.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume is an elegant, intuitive, perceptive exploration of a family secret, a story of love excavated from the ruins of war and decades of denial. It also made me want to learn more about the idealistic young people from the U.S. and elsewhere who bravely volunteered to fight against fascism in Spain, where a different outcome might have thwarted the evil that consumed Europe in World War II. I didn't want this beautifully written book to end after only 150 pages.