[Book Review] Shmuel’s Bridge: Following the Tracks to Auschwitz with My Survivor Father by Jason Sommer
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By Jason Sommer
Seven decades after arriving in New York from war-torn Europe, Jay Sommer is losing his memory, erasing stories of his family, his escape from a labor camp, the important memories of his past. This has his son, Jason Sommer, reflecting on the trip he took with his father in 2001 to retrace his father’s steps across Eastern Europe and to visit the place where members of his family were murdered, Auschwitz.
This is an incredibly touching memoir that seeks to serve two purposes. The first is to preserve the story of Jay Sommer, a survivor the Holocaust. The second is a son’s search for understanding of and connection to his father. A relationship made more complex as the result of generational trauma.
It was very moving to see the growth in connection between father and son as they made their way across Eastern Europe, as they made discoveries and recovered Jay’s buried memories of lost family members.
I’d like to thank the author for the free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. Shmuel’s Bridge is scheduled for release on March 15, 2022.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
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