Author Panel, Holocaust Families

In conversation with Minna Siegel, Librarian, Past Festival Chair

Jennifer Rosner, Once We Were Home

Jen­nifer Rosner’s new nov­el, Once We Were Home, is a thought-pro­vok­ing, mov­ing tale about sev­er­al chil­dren whose Jew­ish par­ents have giv­en them to Chris­tians in des­per­ate attempts to save them from the Nazis. Based on his­tor­i­cal phe­nom­e­na, Rosner’s novel pro­vides insight into the real­i­ty of post­war life for Euro­pean Jews. The con­cen­tra­tion camps may have been lib­er­at­ed, but those lucky enough to sur­vive faced unique chal­lenges that did not sim­ply dis­ap­pear when the war was over. 

Kim Van Alkemade, Counting Lost Stars, A Novel

College student Rita Klein is a pioneering woman in the field of computer programming—until she unexpectedly becomes pregnant. After she is pressured to surrender her baby, she meets Jacob Nassy, a troubled man from the Netherlands who is traumatized by his childhood experience of being separated from his mother during the Holocaust. As Rita helps Jacob, will shocking revelations tear them apart, or will learning the truth about the past enable Rita and Jacob to face the future together?