The Choice

Escaping the Past and Embracing the Possible

By: Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

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!

Please read!

Of all the many, many wonderful books I’ve recently read and heard, this is the most compelling, brilliant, lovely, human, and potentially life-changing, life-saving book. Please do not miss it.

This is a gem! A must read, classic!

I am a Family Physician/Geriatrician. The first hand account of Dr Egar’s ordeal invaluable in itself, and provides a beautiful, validating context for the demonstration of her Choice Therapy. Listening to the book is inspiring and so full of profoundly simple Truth that one feels you have had the blessing of personal counsel from this very special lady! J. C. Hendrix MD, San Diego CA

Tova Feldshuh’s fake Hungarian accent ruined this

I can’t imagine what reasoning led to the decision to have Tova Feldshuh read this book with a thick —and very fake— “generic Eastern European” accent. She obviously can read in unaccented English demonstrated by her reading of the title, and chapter. It is insulting to the author and the listeners alike and totally ruins the experience.

A triumph of a life and a book

I listened to this book right after listening to Viktor Frankl 's Man's search for Meaning- just by coincidence. It gave much more poignancy to have the two works listened to so close in proximity. Edie, thank you for sharing your work, your life and your heart. You are a gift to me and the world:) it was fantastic to hear Edie's voice before the narrator ( who did a terrific job). The story keeps you engrossed. It is sad and hopeful at the same time.

Best book !

This is a true story that’s not only a gripping novel but an inspiration to everyone who reads it! I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I love this author ❤️

What a beautiful book and a beautiful soul! This was a great book about strength and coming out of darkness’s into the light. Always choose the light!

Remarkable

An amazing life-changing story. Written with authenticity. Performed remarkably. An informative perspective on trauma and therapy.

I loved the story but not the narrator

I loved the text. I didn't like to listen to the narrator. Her mother tongue is neither English nor Hungarian(perhaps sold to so). As a Hungarian, it was strange to hear both English and Hungarian words with a third accent.

Life Changing

This book is extremely well written and performed. I have listened to many holocaust books and novels, but this book is unique in that it's purpose is more than just telling a story or testifying to personal experiences. Dr. Eger's purpose in writing this book seems to be that of helping readers / listeners find healing and freedom of their own. Her personal story is fascinating to say the least. I was gripped from beginning to end. There are 3 parts to the book - all masterfully intertwined together. The narrator is fantastic and her performance made me feel as if I were living out Dr. Eger's life with her. I highly recommend this book to everyone!