My childhood was unique – I grew up surrounded by Holocaust survivors, hence, my first language was Yiddish. My mother, my father, my grandfather, my aunts, my uncles and many of their friends were survivors.  Many people who lost their families were always invited to join our family at the dining room table. 

I grew up immersed in their stories. After teaching RESILENCE, I realized something interesting: these young people often had no idea of the Holocaust and these stories of suffering and survival. When I told them the stories of my family, it resonated with them. The stories of these survivors when they were young depicted in the book taught the  students how even through the most difficult extreme adversity, they found their own  RESILENCE in the Holocaust. After teaching RESILENCE in public, private, religious, and  non-denominational schools as well as speaking to student organizations both young and  adult. It is a good thing that I captured these stories when I did, because we do not want to  forget. 

By tapping into these childhood memories, I seek to empower the next generations to build a kinder world as in my two daughters Samantha and Gabrielle I already see them teaching by example of compassion and acceptance.