The Choice

Escaping the Past and Embracing the Possible

By: Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh

A powerful, moving memoir - and a practical guide to healing - written by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor help her treat patients and allow them to escape the prisons of their own minds.

Edith Eger was 16 years old when the Nazis came to her hometown in Hungary and took her Jewish family to an internment center and then to Auschwitz. Her parents were sent to the gas chamber by Joseph Mengele soon after they arrived at the camp. Hours later Mengele demanded that Edie dance a waltz to "The Blue Danube" and rewarded her with a loaf of bread that she shared with her fellow prisoners. These women later helped save Edie's life. Edie and her sister survived Auschwitz, were transferred to the Mauthausen and Gunskirchen camps in Austria, and managed to live until the American troops liberated the camps in 1945 and found Edie in a pile of dying bodies.

One of the few living Holocaust survivors to remember the horrors of the camps, Edie has chosen to forgive her captors and find joy in her life every day. Years after she was liberated from the concentration camps, Edie went back to college to study psychology. She combines her clinical knowledge and her own experiences with trauma to help others who have experienced painful events large and small. Dr. Eger has counselled veterans suffering from PTSD, women who were abused, and many others who learned that they, too, can choose to forgive, find resilience, and move forward. She lectures frequently on the power of love and healing.

The Choice weaves Eger's personal story with case studies from her work as a psychologist. Her patients and their stories illustrate different phases of healing and show how people can choose to escape the prisons they construct in their minds and find freedom, regardless of circumstance. Eger's story is an inspiration for everyone. And her message is powerful and important: "Your pain matters and is worth healing: You can choose to be joyful and free." She is 89 years old and still dancing.

©2017 Edith Eva Eger (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

One Of The Most Powerful Books I Have Read in My Lifetime!

Words can not describe the incredible gift Dr. Eger has given the world with this book! I am so moved by the book, her story, what she has done for so many people, our military servicemen and women and many others. This book and her story will live forever and I know that I will re-read it and cherish it for all my life. And offer it to family and friends wherever I go. I have The Choice in both Audible and hardcover. It is great on Audible. God Bless Edith and her family and her gift!

Review of “The Choice”

This book was so captivating, I felt like I was right beside her on her journey. The narration was wonderful!
This book will crack open your heart.

Best This Year

While listening I found myself lost in time.If you were in my ear Dr Edith nothing else mattered until I heard every word. Transfixed is the word of the day!

Interesting memoir

The first 60% of the book is a recounting of Dr Eger’s life, including/especially her experience in Auschwitz. Also focuses on the process of recovery. The last third if the book includes discussions of various patients’ case histories - how her life influenced her patients and how she learned from their situations. Overall the book is very interesting and one can learn a great deal ftom the author.

Life Changing!

Loved it so much, I'm buying the hardcover! This is a can't put down, can't forget, life-changing book!

Should be a required reading in school!

This book offers a wealth of information from Dr. Eger. From her recollection of her time in Auschwitz to her experiences as a teacher and psychiatrist, she has countless examples of how to make the most of the present and future instead of falling victim to the past. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

As if I was there

This is a difficult book to listen to due to the content and I had to take a few breaks. It’s hard for me to fully grasp that these events happened and this was true for millions of people. Dr Eger is a master storyteller. It was like I was in a camp myself losing my own parent or being separated from my own children. Then the way she creatively shared how she was released from her own prison through her slow reconciliation with accountability, self acceptance, forgiveness. This book has the ability to set people free from a state of suffering. I recommend it to all adults.

A must read if you’re into self development / powerful!

Powerful book on or with Mans search for meaning. It’s well worth the read. Captivating and inspirational.

A Self Healing Journey

This book like no other has helped me heal, helped me be free, helped me be more aware of the feelings of others and my own. I highly recommend to everyone! We all have something to heal from and deserve to be free.

Powerful

Listen to this. It’s an incredible biography. The audiobook narration was phenomenal. A gift for our tumultuous times.