On the eve of the Book Launch, Deedee Wigler posted this on Amazon: In her new book, Digging: Lifting the Memorable from Within the Unthinkable, Susan Rostan takes us on a multi-leveled memorable journey. The unspeakable horrors experienced by a young boy in Poland during WWII are indelibly imprinted on the reader. So too, the process of the grown man recounting these horrific events, retrieving precious memories of a family lost in the Warsaw Ghetto and beyond. Driven to undertake her own journey for the love of her family – wanting to find the truth and fill the gaps in the family history for husband, children, and grandchildren – Susan immerses herself in the rubble of the Holocaust. Her love and respect for her mother-in-law Elzbieta, who had depths unknown to Susan, her love for her husband’s uncle Marian and the desire to help him unburden and heal, and her wish to honor them both and keep the memories alive – the good and the bad – as a testament to what people are capable of, guides her in her research and fuels her perseverance. As Susan cautiously excavates, encourages, and gently probes Marian’s memories, Marian is ready to begin healing. His natural survivor’s guilt and anger are apparent as his story unfolds. His gratitude for the love and guidance of his sister Elzbieta and the sacrifice of a family friend, a Polish non-Jew, become a need to seek recognition for their courage and sacrifices. Through meticulous research and revealing conversations with Marian, using her gifts of intelligence, curiosity, and imagination, her experiences as a loving mother and as Elzbieta’s daughter-in-law, Susan imparts credibility and poignancy to the imagined thoughts of Elzbieta before, during, and after the war. Digging will inspire its readers. It is for all of us -- survivors reluctant to speak, the second and third generations who need courage to ask the important questions, and those of us who want to keep alive the bravery of people who survive any traumatic or devastating event in their lives. It is a testament reminding us to be the best we can be in situations that we hope may never happen again. The Holocaust is in a category of its own in the magnitude of horror and loss, but there are untold numbers of us affected by family secrets of many kinds. An important message of Digging is that it is worth the effort to unearth these stories – worthwhile for their value and for their meaning -- for both current and future generations.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 17:37:23 +0000