I Want You to Know We're Still Here

A Post-Holocaust Memoir

By: Esther Safran Foer

Narrated by: Ellen Archer, Esther Safran Foer

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

National Jewish Book Awards Finalist

“Part personal quest, part testament, and all thoughtfully, compassionately written.” (The Washington Post)

“Esther Safran Foer is a force of nature: a leader of the Jewish people, the matriarch of America’s leading literary family, an eloquent defender of the proposition that memory matters. And now, a riveting memoirist.” (Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic)

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR

Esther Safran Foer grew up in a home where the past was too terrible to speak of. The child of parents who were each the sole survivors of their respective families, for Esther the Holocaust loomed in the backdrop of daily life, felt but never discussed. The result was a childhood marked by painful silences and continued tragedy. Even as she built a successful career, married, and raised three children, Esther always felt herself searching.

So when Esther’s mother casually mentions an astonishing revelation - that her father had a previous wife and daughter, both killed in the Holocaust - Esther resolves to find out who they were, and how her father survived. Armed with only a black-and-white photo and a hand-drawn map, she travels to Ukraine, determined to find the shtetl where her father hid during the war. What she finds reshapes her identity and gives her the opportunity to finally mourn.

I Want You to Know We’re Still Here is the poignant and deeply moving story not only of Esther’s journey but of four generations living in the shadow of the Holocaust. They are four generations of survivors, storytellers, and memory keepers, determined not just to keep the past alive but to imbue the present with life and more life.

©2020 Esther Safran Foer (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Esther Safran Foer is a natural storyteller - and what a story she has to tell! A tribute to human resilience, her family saga is full of heart and the breath of life. It is a perfect tonic for our cynical times. I loved it." (Kati Marton, author of The Great Escape)

"Stirring and inspiring, this remarkable book is a labor of love and hope. Esther Safran Foer goes on a brave journey abroad and into the past in search of unsettling family secrets buried in the horrible darkness created by Nazism. Her odyssey is both harrowing and heroic. When she returns, she can never see things in the same way, and neither can we. This book is a little triumph over fascism." (Congressman Jamie Raskin)

"I Want You to Know We’re Still Here is a beautiful exploration of collective memory and Jewish history, of Esther Safran Foer’s personal quest to find any trace of a murdered sister, to track down the family who saved her father, and to ensure that the names from her family’s past live on." (Nathan Englander, author of kaddish.com)

"Esther Safran Foer has written an honest, painful, and ultimately uplifting story of life after tragedy. This book is, above all else, the redemption song of her family and of her people. It should be read by everyone." (Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic)

Superb holocaust memoir

A first rate memoir about a survivor family searching for answers about their ancestry.
Very moving.

Remarkable homage to a one families endurance in the face of evil

There are many Holocaust memoirs. This one is from a descendant dedicated to finding out who were her family and particularly how her father survived the war. A must read. Tragic and inspiring.

well written

I love that the author narrated part of the story. one can forget that many of these stories were written in the latter years of the life of the author.

So much sadness, so much love!

I myself am not Jewish but that doesn't matter. This book had me entranced listening to the terrible tragedy that occurred with the Holocaust. The bravery of the ones murdered and the bravery of the survivors touched my heart. The loving stories of family and tradition really got to me. Well worth a listen. The heartwarming and beautiful way this family loves and cares for each other is amazing. We all need to hear and learn from this terrible tragedy.

Very touching

I really enjoyed this story. It was an interesting stroy that I'm sure many other families have been through when looking for their families that were destroyed by WW2. very impressed.

Beautiful post Holocaust Search for family.

This story, I hate to use the word "story" as there is no fake involved here; is completely emotionally honest without a shred of self pity. It's truly stunning and inspirational.

Very intriguing, want to know more

A very interesting book. Really got me invested early and I wanted to know more. The narrator's voice was mostly pleasing and she really evoked the emotion/feelings. I wish it was longer but it was a good read. I'd recommend it for sure.

Incredible story.

Full account of a journey into far off lands, Ukraine, Germany, America and Israel. Uncovering history both tragic and resilient. A history culminating in powerful ancestral healing.
I learned so much.
Thank you Esther Safran Foer.
I loved this book.

Interesting but…

I felt the reader spoke too quickly for me to absorb the information especially when listing relatives. I thought her voice was annoying. I slowed the rate of the reader and it was much better.

well written

this is very well written, although it did hold my attention like other holocaust books. I cannot give it a bad rating bc it is a good book, its someone's story. their life, family, and whole history is in this book, and that deserves the best rating I can give.