Why am I passionate about this?

Adena Astrowsky is the grandchild of two Holocaust survivors. Her grandmother often spoke to her about her experiences during the Holocaust, which had a profound impact on her life. She continues to honor her grandmother's life by speaking about her grandmother’s survival and lessons learned from the Holocaust.


I wrote

Living among the Dead: My Grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story of Love and Strength

By Adena Bernstein Astrowsky,

Book cover of Living among the Dead: My Grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story of Love and Strength

What is my book about?

This is the story of one remarkable young woman's unimaginable journey through the rise of the Nazi regime, the Second…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of All the Light We Cannot See

Adena Bernstein Astrowsky Why did I love this book?

A beautifully written novel set against a dark but fascinating backdrop. The characters come alive in this emotional novel and stay with you long after you’ve read the last sentence. While the author does jump back and forth between different time periods, his writing is so creative and makes the reader feel as if you have been transported to places in the book alongside the characters.

By Anthony Doerr,

Why should I read it?

47 authors picked All the Light We Cannot See as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION

A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.'

For Marie-Laure, blind since the age of six, the world is full of mazes. The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood, made by her father to teach her the way home. The microscopic…


Book cover of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Adena Bernstein Astrowsky Why did I love this book?

This book is written from an incredible perspective of a Slovakian Jew, who because he speaks multiple languages, is forcibly put to work to permanently mark via tattoo his fellow prisoners. With all of the negativity surrounding his physical and emotional world, he finds love in a fellow prisoner, whom he met while marking her arm. The way the author is able to weave a beautiful love story throughout this nightmare, really exemplifies the importance of hope and resistance.

By Heather Morris,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Tattooist of Auschwitz as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the bestselling books of the 21st century with over 6 million copies sold.

Don't miss the conclusion to The Tattooist of Auschwitz Trilogy, Three Sisters. Available now.

I tattooed a number on her arm. She tattooed her name on my heart.

In 1942, Lale Sokolov arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust.

Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl.…


Book cover of The Book Thief

Adena Bernstein Astrowsky Why did I love this book?

I waited to read this book after my son read it in junior high and raved about it. The day he finished the book he actually insisted that I stop reading whatever I was reading at the time to start The Book Thief so we could discuss it. To this day (he is now a senior in high school) it is still his favorite book of all time (and he is an avid reader). This book is really like no other. Written from a perspective not usually done, the author does an incredible job of telling a story that takes place during a very dark time in history in a creative way that keeps the reader engaged.

By Markus Zusak,

Why should I read it?

33 authors picked The Book Thief as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

'Life affirming, triumphant and tragic . . . masterfully told. . . but also a wonderful page-turner' Guardian
'Brilliant and hugely ambitious' New York Times
'Extraordinary' Telegraph
___

HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.
Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT…


Book cover of A Holocaust Memoir of Love & Resilience: Mama's Survival from Lithuania to America

Adena Bernstein Astrowsky Why did I love this book?

A beautifully written and compelling true story about the author’s heroine, her mother. The memoir shares with the reader the unspeakable horrors and tragic times that her mother lived through and witnessed – and of course, the impact of those events on the author, herself. The book is a testament to persistence, hope, and strength.

By Ettie Zilber,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Holocaust Memoir of Love & Resilience as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With the Nazi occupation of Kovno (Lithuania), her life changed forever. Zlata Santocki Sidrer was Jewish, but she survived the horrors of the Holocaust. Gone was her normal life and her teenage dream of becoming a doctor. Instead, she witnessed untold deprivations, massacres, imprisonment, hunger and slave labor before being transported to the Stutthof Concentration Camp. Her story of the death march is a testament to her fighting spirit and the limits of human endurance. Yet the challenges did not end with liberation.

Lovingly compiled from recorded interviews and researched by her eldest daughter, Ettie, this is an account of…


Book cover of The Children of Willesden Lane: A True Story of Hope and Survival During World War II

Adena Bernstein Astrowsky Why did I love this book?

A beautiful read set otherwise on a very dark backdrop. Learning of Lisa Jura’s journey on the Kindertransport to a country she’s never been to at the age of fourteen, really exemplifies the very difficult, and not fair, choices parents were forced to make during this time period. However, the memoir really demonstrates the power of music and hope to uplift and fulfill many human needs.

By Mona Golabek, Lee Cohen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Children of Willesden Lane as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

A young readers' edition of an important and inspiring true story of hope and survival during World War II.

Fourteen-year-old Lisa Jura was a musical prodigy who hoped to become a concert pianist. But when Hitler's armies advanced on pre-war Vienna, Lisa's parents were forced to make a difficult decision. Able to secure passage for only one of their three daughters through the Kindertransport, they chose to send gifted Lisa to London for safety.

As she yearned to be reunited with her family while she lived in a home for refugee children on Willesden Lane, Lisa's music became a beacon…


Explore my book 😀

Living among the Dead: My Grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story of Love and Strength

By Adena Bernstein Astrowsky,

Book cover of Living among the Dead: My Grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story of Love and Strength

What is my book about?

This is the story of one remarkable young woman's unimaginable journey through the rise of the Nazi regime, the Second World War, and the aftermath. Mania Lichtenstein’s dramatic story of survival is narrated by her granddaughter and her memories are interwoven with beautiful passages of poetry and personal reflection.

Many Jews did not die in concentration camps, but were murdered in their lifelong communities, slaughtered by mass killing units, and then buried in pits. As a young girl, Mania witnessed the horrors while doing everything within her power to subsist. She lived in Włodzimierz, north of Lvov (Ukraine), was interned for three years in the labor camp nearby, managed to escape, and hid in the forests until the end of the war. Although she was the sole survivor of her family, Mania went on to rebuild a new life in the United States, with a new language and new customs, always carrying with her the losses of her family and her memories.

You might also like...

The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

Book cover of The Open Road

M.M. Holaday Author Of The Open Road

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up a fan of an evening news segment called “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” Kuralt spotlighted upbeat, affirmative, sometimes nostalgic stories of people and places he discovered as he traveled across the American landscape. The charming stories he told were only part of the appeal; the freedom and adventure of being on the open road ignited a spark that continues to smolder. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are our annual family road trips, and I still jump at the chance to drive across the country.

M.M.'s book list on following the open road to discover America

What is my book about?

Head West in 1865 with two life-long friends looking for adventure and who want to see the wilderness before it disappears. One is a wanderer; the other seeks a home he lost. The people they meet on their journey reflect the diverse events of this time period–settlers, adventure seekers, scientific expeditions, and Indigenous peoples–all of whom shape their lives in significant ways.

This is a story of friendship that casts a different look on a time period which often focuses only on wagon trains or gunslingers.

The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

What is this book about?

After four years of adventure in the frontier, Win Avery returns to his hometown on the edge of the prairie and tracks down his childhood friend, Jeb Dawson. Jeb has just lost his parents, and, in his efforts to console him, Win convinces his friend to travel west with him―to see the frontier before it is settled, while it is still unspoiled wilderness.

They embark on a free-spirited adventure, but their journey sidetracks when they befriend Meg Jameson, an accomplished horsewoman, lost on the Nebraska prairie. Traveling together through the Rocky Mountain foothills, they run into Gray Wolf, an Arapaho…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Holocaust, romantic love, and refugees?

The Holocaust 415 books
Romantic Love 942 books
Refugees 147 books