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Transcending Darkness
- A Girl’s Journey Out of the Holocaust (Modern Jewish History)
- Narrated by: Laura Schreiber
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
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Transcending Darkness
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Summary
“Please, Mama, I don’t want to live like this,” pleaded twelve-year-old Estelle Glaser’s older sister as they watched the bodies of friends dangle from the gibbet in the center of the appelplatz of the Madjanek concentration camp. “I cannot take the indignities and brutalities. Let’s step forward and make them kill us now.”
But Estelle’s mother fiercely responded to her two daughters: "No! Life is sacred. It is noble to fight to stay alive."
Their mother’s indomitable will was a major factor in the trio’s survival in the face of brutal odds. But Estelle recognized other heroes in the ghetto and camps as well, righteous individuals who stood out like beacons and kept their spirits alive. Their father was one, as were hungry teachers in dim, cold rooms who risked their lives to secretly teach imprisoned children. Estelle herself learned to draw on a joyful past, and to bring her own light into the void.
Estelle’s memoir, published sixty-four years after her liberation from the Nazis, is a narrative of fear and hope and resiliency. While it is a harrowing tale of destruction and loss, it is also a story of the goodness that still exists in a dark world, of survival and renewal.
The book is published by Texas Tech University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
Critic reviews
"Told in colorful prose and with powerful detail, this intensely personal Holocaust story brings history to life in the way only a first-person account can." (Jewish Book Council)
What listeners say about Transcending Darkness
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- critical friend
- 11-07-24
Jewess' personal account of surviving the Nazis
This is an important resource for understanding resilience, hope and the power of love. The inhumanity of the Nazis and their treatment of minorities they despised like the Jews should never be forgotten, lest we repeat those mistakes. I liked the vivid descriptions employing multi-sernsory aspects and the contrast of life before and during the invasion of Poland. I was impressed by the memory of the author and the honesty when there were details she could not remember. Unfortunately, most of the narrative tension is lost as we know the outcome for the author. There were times when the story became repetitive and so lost the narrative flow. The importance of family and mutual support is demonstrated repeatedly. It was touching to realise that there were occasions when those who had least were the most generous and kind.
The narrator was poor at giving us male voices and I could not distinguish easily which female was speaking. Most of the text is narrated by the author. The production values are not of the standard I usually encounter as it was clear many times that most names were dubbed in later. This was irritating as well as interrupting the narrative flow.
It was harrowing at times, but there is a message of hope and reasons for confidence in the future delivered by the aiuthor at the end.
I received a free copy, amd am leaving this review voluntarily.
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