Survivor Biography

“Sobering, unforgettable reading. This is a standout of its kind.” – Publishers Weekly “A riv­et­ing, deeply mov­ing mem­oir. The writ­ing is descrip­tive and dra­mat­ic, pre­serv­ing Lewkowicz’s deep emo­tions.” – Jewish Book Council This is the remarkable story of...

Christina Crawford’s Mommie Dearest cast a spotlight on the unspoken horrors of family violence and exorcised the demons of her childhood. But in the years following the controversial best seller’s publication, the author’s resilience was tested in ways she never expected. Crawford was forced to brave a stunning backlash intended to shame her, a film adaptation that bastardized her story and compounded the trauma, a descent into alcoholism, a divorce, and a massive stroke that left her paralyzed. Staying true to her fighting spirit, she made a remarkable comeback.

The harrowing true story of abduction and survival from the courageous young woman who lived it—now the subject of a Lifetime original movie, I Am Elizabeth Smart. In this memoir, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime. On...

An inspiring survivor of Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China makes a passionate case that history is eerily repeating itself as the Woke Revolution spreads across America. Xi Van Fleet lived through the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution as a schoolgirl. Forced to the countryside with...

What's it like to live in a Mormon home? What's it like when your father goes to church on Sundays and tells everyone to repent, all the while he's sexually abusing you? What's it like to know your mom will never stand up for you or keep you safe? Is it possible to still believe in God after this? Is it possible to heal? Read about the journey of a girl determined to break the chains of abuse and give her children the life she never had . . . and then how she failed. This is a book of hope, faith, tragedy and heartbreak . . . this is real life. There is a purpose to every pain we have. I've...

An abortion survivor and leading pro-life spokeswoman tells her inspiring and sometimes surprising story of redemption, healing, and forgiveness, offering grace and support—not shame—to women facing the most difficult decision of their lives. “Claire’s heart-wrenching and inspiring story...

This striking work of narrative nonfiction tells the true story of six-year-old Sachiko Yasui's survival of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 and the heartbreaking and lifelong aftermath. Having conducted extensive interviews with Sachiko Yasui, Caren Stelson shares the true story of a young girl who survived the atomic bomb and chronicles her long journey to find peace. This special book offers listeners a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II and their aftermath.

Eastern Europe, 1944: Three women believe they are pregnant, but are torn from their husbands before they can be certain. Rachel is sent to Auschwitz, unaware that her husband has been shot. Priska and her husband travel there together, but are immediately separated. Also at Auschwitz, Anka hopes in vain to be reunited with her husband. With the rest of their families gassed, these young wives are determined to hold on to all they have left-their lives, and those of their unborn babies.

An inspiring account from one of history’s darkest moments. Marione Ingram grew up in Hamburg, Germany, in the late 1930s and early 1940s. She was German. She was Jewish. She was a survivor. This is her story. As a young girl, Marione was aware that people of the Jewish faith were regarded as outsiders, the supposed root of Germany’s many problems. She grew up in an apartment building where neighbors were more than happy to report Jews to the Gestapo.

Born into a century of conflict, Margaret Beaufort, the daughter of the Duke of Somerset and a descendant of Edward III, was married at the age of twelve. She was a mother, orphan, and widow by thirteen. She survived the vicissitudes of the Wars of the Roses and two further marriages to see her only son, Henry, ascend the throne of England as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. During Henry's reign, she exerted considerable influence at court, and played a part in the upbringing of her grandson, the future Henry VIII. She was a lifelong artistic patron and supporter of academia.

"We Volunteered." is the story of Carl Robert Ruse, suvivor of the Bataan Death March, and a prisoner of the Japanese Imperial Army through the end of World War II. As a POW, he endured horrific conditions at prison camps such as Camp O'Donnell, Cabanatuan, and Davao Penal Colony. He also survived two months of time in the hold of a crowded Japanese "Hell Ship" for a two-month voyage to Japan where he was forced to work in the Japanese industrial city of Yokkaichi until the end of the war. At the time of his liberation, he weighed eighty pounds.

After being separated from my mother twice in my 10 short years of life, I was more than a little excited at the prospect of being reunited with her again. Unfortunately, my elation was to be short-lived when the visits to my bedroom started. Threatening to send me away again or turn the loaded gun he kept in my wardrobe on us all, he kept my silence. It was to be another six years until I escaped the abuse of my mother’s husband and another 30 years before I was able to bring him to justice. Ironically, the one person that should have protected me and helped me fight to stop him, my ...

Holocaust survivor and licensed therapist Karmela Waldman shares brutally honest advice about life and death—often deploying brutally sharp wit—with her son and podcast co-host, Joel Waldman.

Gripping and inspiring, these true stories of bravery, terror, and hope chronicle nine different children's experiences during the Holocaust. These are the true-life accounts of nine Jewish boys and girls whose lives spiraled into danger and fear as the Holocaust overtook Europe. In a time of great horror, these children each found a way to make it through the nightmare of war. Their legacy of courage in the face of hatred will move you, captivate you, and ultimately, inspire you.

I glanced behind me and saw my husband being detained. The guards interrogated him and took his photo as the flashbulbs illuminated his face. The moment felt like an eternity as they searched Pe's body from head to toe. And then, he was forced to sign yet another confession. Looking on, I held my breath in anticipation as my 5-year-old son asked, "Are they going to let us go?" Nita Tin, born in Rangoon, Burma, and descended from nobility was raised in an opulent lifestyle. But as her country came under the control of a ruthless military dictator, her whole life changed.

On August 28, 1997, just as she was starting her junior year of college at the University of Kentucky, Holly Dunn and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, were walking along railroad tracks on their way home from a party when they were attacked by notorious serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a.k.a. The Railroad Killer. After her boyfriend is beaten to death in front of her, Holly is stabbed, raped, and left for dead. In this memoir of survival and healing from a horrific true crime, Holly recounts how she lived through the vicious assault.

In these compelling, award-winning, Holocaust memoirs, Nanette Blitz Konig relates her amazing story of survival during the Second World War when she, together with her family and millions of other Jews, was imprisoned by the Nazis with a minimum chance of survival. Nanette (b. 1929) was a class mate of Anne Frank in the Jewish Lyceum of Amsterdam. They met again in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp shortly before Anne died.

A New York Times Bestseller In this uplifting memoir in the vein of The Last Lecture and Man’s Search for Meaning, a Holocaust survivor pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom, and living his best possible life. Born in Leipzig, Germany, into a Jewish...

Our Crime Was Being Jewish contains 576 vivid memories of 358 Holocaust survivors. These are the true, insider stories of victims, told in their own words. They include the experiences of teenagers who saw their parents and siblings sent to the gas chambers; of starving children beaten for trying to steal a morsel of food; of people who saw their friends commit suicide to save themselves from the daily agony they endured.

April 7, 1944 - This date marks the successful escape of two Slovak prisoners from one of the most heavily-guarded and notorious concentration camps of Nazi Germany. The escapees, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, fled over 100 miles to be the first to give the graphic and detailed descriptions of the atrocities of Auschwitz. Originally published in the early 1960s, I Escaped from Auschwitz is the striking autobiography of none other than Rudolf Vrba himself. Vrba details his life leading up to, during, and after his escape from his 21-month internment in Auschwitz.