Awake, but still dreaming


Kate Mathias - 2015
    I wasn’t wearing an orange jumpsuit, but instead a flimsy hospital gown engulfed my frail body. As I looked into my husband’s eyes, I wondered if this would be the last time I saw him … the last time I hugged him … the last time I told him I loved him. I worried that my last few breaths would be taken as the wheels of the gurney squeaked down the brightly lit hallway, slowly making our way to the operating room. In the next few moments they would begin surgery to remove a brain tumor from my right frontal lobe. My life was about to change. This is my story, my true story, of my journey overcoming my brain tumor. One that I hope ends with a happy ending. That’s the thing about hope; even in my darkest days, that hope remained deep within my soul. I hoped that the person I used to be would fight their way back, out of the depths. And today, hope still fills my heart … hope that I will make the most of my second chance at life. Life doesn’t send out invitations — so today I choose to be bold. Be brave. Be unforgettable. And I choose to LIVE.

Parallel Lives: The Remarkable Story of a Young Jewish Family Separated by World War II


Lena Rotmensz - 2018
    Liliana is a beautiful and educated young Jewish woman. She marries Henry and becomes a mother to Rebecca. She has a full life ahead of her in Poland, or so it seems. The time period is the beginning of World War II, when the Germans invade Poland. To protect her, Liliana and Henry entrust Rebecca to their Christian friends. Shortly thereafter, Henry is among those taken to the concentration camp. Time passes, and Liliana knows little about the fate of her husband or daughter. To survive, Liliana (now known as Helena) assumes the identity of a Polish aristocrat and ends up working for a German officer named Robert. In a twist of fate, Robert and Helena fall in love with each other and get married. Unknown to Liliana, Henry survives and reunites with their daughter Rebecca. He finds a way to communicate with Liliana, only to find out that she started a new life. Liliana has yet to reveal her true identity to her German husband. Filled with guilt and longing for Rebecca, she thinks of putting an end to all of the lies. Will Liliana finally overcome her fears and reunite with her daughter? Parallel Lives is based on a true story. It brings the reader on a captivating journey of the "parallel lives" of a family who was separated by war. The journey takes the reader though a myriad of human emotions, including: love, jealousy, fear, despair, and freedom.

Constant Traveller R801168: At age 16 I went to sea


Rod Baker - 2015
    Aboard ship, he finds his place—at the bottom of the stratified navel hierarchy. At sea he experiences storms that toss large ships around like twigs.Venturing ashore in unfamiliar lands, he runs for his life through a Senegalese village, kisses a man in Australia, is mugged in Tahiti, almost kills the third mate in Sweden and is captured by a woman in Vancouver.

Dying by Numbers


Sam Kates - 2018
    The heaviest burden. An old man has for many years borne a weight that runs deeper than survivor’s guilt. He is a survivor, of humanity’s darkest hour, but wouldn’t have lived through it if not for the actions of another. Now he has the opportunity for which he has long yearned: to meet his saviour’s daughter and tell her about her father’s supreme act of selflessness. And maybe, in the telling, one of them will find release.

For the Love of a Soldier


June Tate - 1999
    She's never met anyone like American Steve Rossi, and it's hard to resist his good looks and easy confidence. But there's another side to Steve, and when he pulls a knife during a fight, Maggie begins to wonder what other secrets he's concealing. Joshua Lewis is everything Steve's not: kind, considerate and honest. And he's black. When he and Maggie become friends, Steve's true colours are revealed and Maggie begins to wonder if her feelings for Joshua are as paltonic as she first thought...

Henri's War: A Buchenwald Holocaust Story


A Survivor - 2015
     Readers Reviews: A powerful and detailed account and very chilling to the thought of human activity to other humans. Very gripping and hard to put down, a highly recommend book. A compelling read and an insight into mans inhumanity to man.it seems unbelievable today how one deranged lunatic in Berlin could cause such destruction and persuade people to act in such a barbaric fashion towards others. I found this to be a fascinating read. Recommended. From the Heart of a man. From the depths of Hell. A harrowing narration of the Worlds darkest hours. This book should be compulsory reading in Schools. We must never forget. Thank you for all of the amazing reviews and purchasing this eBook.

Tilli's Story: My Thoughts Are Free


Lorna Collier - 2004
    The small, poignant touches are riveting." -"Kirkus Discoveries""I think about what I want and what makes me happy, But orderly and quietly to myself. Because my thoughts tear down fortresses and walls, My thoughts are free. -German folk song, author unknown"The beautiful, safe, joyful places in young Tilli's imagination were her only refuge from the bombing that tore through the sky above her during World War II. Her thoughts were her only freedom from Hitler's Nazi tyranny, and they were her strength to survive after the war ended, when Russians invaded her tiny farming village in eastern Germany; forced her into months of hiding in a dark attic crawlspace; and took her innocence, her childhood, and nearly her life.Tilli's dreams-of a time when she could think and act freely, and travel, work, write, worship, and live however she wished-were what fueled the sixteen-year-old to courageously and single-handedly escape the terror of Stalin's harsh Communist rule and create her own happy ending in a free America.This true tale of sorrow and terror, hope and triumph, is Tilli's story-but it's also the story of the unthinkable suffering and untold bravery of countless innocent children who have lived through a war and its aftermath.

Making a Night Stalker


David Burnett - 2019
    His journey starts in a conventional Army unit where he doesn't feel fulfilled in his duties and obligations. This lack of responsibility drives David to pursue the dream of becoming an MH-47G Chinook helicopter crew chief in the most secretive and elite aviation unit in the world. David is met with constant hurdles and set backs trying to achieve his ultimate goal but he is more determined than ever. After graduating from the units five week selection process he is thrown into school after school and non stop training before being able to step foot on the aircraft he so desperately dreams of crewing on. After almost a year in the Special Operations unit he is trained and ready to deploy with 160th, and it is nothing short of intense. He learns quickly that his new units mission op tempo is exactly what he had hoped. He is eager to prove himself among the ranks and continues to hone his craft over the next four years. After five deployments with the unit as a crew chief he is discharged from the military. After leaving the fast paced world of the SOF community he falls into a deep depression. Alcohol becomes the new most important thing, and he finds himself in a new and reckless battlefield. He never saw this coming.

Beaten and Left for Dead: The Story of Teri Jendusa-Nicolai


Dave Alfvin - 2017
    The Crime of the Decade in Wisconsin. WITH PHOTOS Teri Jendusa never dreamed she would marry a violent, malignant narcissist like David Larsen. But she did. Why? Simple. Larsen cleverly concealed his true nature until the marriage vows were final. David, an eventual church council president and model citizen, rapidly began to morph into a monster and sociopath, telling Teri on their wedding day, “Now, I own you.” Beaten and Left For Dead is a book about extreme marital violence, dominant control and psychological torment through the mind of the out-of-control David Larsen. It's also about survival, faith and a mother’s will to live for her children’s sake...as she faces death, face to face. This is an ideal book for women’s studies and book clubs as it looks inside a large women’s shelter, giving the reader a glimpse of a support network. The author also interviews a counselor who works with violent men with surprising results. Teri Jendusa-Nicolai continues to crusade for women’s issues to this day and currently works with a Wisconsin commission on domestic violence. EDITORIAL PRAISE "Teri Jendusa-Nicolai's story is a powerful example of the horrific lengths of barbarism a man can go to when he considers a woman his personal property. And it is, equally, an inspiring, riveting story of a woman's courage and clear thinking under the absolute worst of conditions, and of her tenacious hold to life...I am so grateful to Teri Jendusa-Nicolai and to Dave Alfvin for getting this story out to us. Don't miss it." --Lundy Bancroft, best-selling author on domestic violence, trainer, and activist on male violence against women "This book is important because it gets our message out as to what we do to help abusers change their value systems." --Maureen Manning-Rosenfeld, Clinical Professional Counselor

The Last Daughter


Belle Ami - 2010
    The Nazis have begun their brutal march through her hometown of Radom, Poland. Dina’s happy world comes tumbling down and her family will never be the same. As the Nazi regime implements the systematic annihilation of every Jewish man, woman, and child throughout Europe, Dina and her family do everything they can to stay together. But can they make it through the war unscathed?As Dina matures from child to teenager, every day brings a daunting new challenge to survive. When she meets Natek Korman, a young man with sky-blue eyes that crinkle when he smiles, Dina experiences the first blush of love and a longing for a normal life. But what could be normal in a world of endless terror and numbing fear?From the harsh day-to-day existence in the Jewish ghetto under Nazi occupation to the grueling toil of the ruthless workcamps to the utter despair of the death camps of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belson, Dina’s story of survival is a heart-rending testament to the power of the human spirit.The Last Daughter is an extraordinary story of an ordinary girl. Based on the remarkable true story of Dina Frydman, a Jewish girl from Radom, Poland who is thrust into an unforgettable journey from the dawn of World War Two to the darkest days of the Holocaust. You will never forget Dina nor the millions of others like her.

Stella's Secret: A True Story of Holocaust Survival


Jerry L. Jennings - 2005
    But it is Stella’s voice, the amazing way that she tells her story, that makes this Holocaust story so unique, powerful and endearing. The reader listens to Stella’s stunning simplicity of expression, her use of Polish and Yiddish phrases, her humor, her all-so-frequent grammatical errors – and is charmed. It is a story that only Stella Yollin can tell, and it can only be told in Stella’s sweet and incomparable way.

Newark Minutemen


Leslie K. Barry - 2020
    Inspired by a true American legend, a Jewish boxer trained by the mafia and FBI fights the rising American Nazi party. During his undercover mission to rid the country of the American Führer, he falls in love with the enemy’s daughter.

The Long Walk


Ruth Treeson - 2010
    There are no attack dogs barking, no guards shouting. After weeks of evading the Soviet Army by marching their captives around Germany, the Nazis have finally given up and evaporated into the night.Rutka embarks on a harrowing journey back to Poland that lands her at the Catholic boarding school where she'd hidden from the Gestapo until her capture. Here, among the few tattered remnants of her childhood, the tragic past begins to seep through: the assumed Christian names, the mother who risked everything to find her lost husband and the sister torn from Rutka's arms by the police.Confronted by unimaginable loss, Rutka nonetheless finds friends, joy and slowly, a whole new life in the United States.

Bondi's Brother


Irving Roth - 2004
    Very touching, page turner.

Kiss Every Step: A Survivor's Memoir from the Nazi Holocaust


Doris Martin - 2009
    To begin their reign of terror, the Nazis burned down Bendzin's beautiful synagogue with some 200 helpless Jews inside. Most Jewish families in Bendzin, and rest of Poland were completely wiped out by the Holocaust. The Szpringers were just an ordinary middle-class family, but through many incredible strokes of luck, or perhaps miracles, all seven of them survived. For an entire Jewish family in Poland to survive the Holocaust is amazing--likely unique. What is more remarkable is how they survived. This is their story.