| Description |
1 online resource (1 audio file (6hr., 50 min.)) : digital. |
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digital digital recording rda |
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data file rda |
| Access |
Digital content provided by hoopla. |
| Performer |
Read by the author. |
| Summary |
In 2009, Rachael Cerrotti, a college student pursuing a career in photojournalism, asked her grandmother, Hana, if she could record her story. Rachael knew that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and the only one in her family alive at the end of the war. Rachael also knew that she survived because of the kindness of strangers. It wasn't a secret. Hana spoke about her history publicly and regularly. But, Rachael wanted to document it as only a granddaughter could. So, that's what they did: Hana talked and Rachael wrote. Upon Hana's passing in 2010, Rachael discovered an incredible archive of her life. There were preserved albums and hundreds of photographs dating back to the 1920s. There were letters waiting to be translated, journals, diaries, deportation and immigration papers as well as creative writings from various stages of Hana's life. Rachael digitized and organized it all, plucking it from the past and placing it into her present. Then, she began retracing her grandmother's story, following her through Central Europe, Scandinavia, and across the United States. She tracked down the descendants of those who helped save her grandmother's life during the war. Rachael went in pursuit of her grandmother's memory to explore how the retelling of family stories becomes the history itself. We Share the Same Sky weaves together the stories of these two young women-Hana as a refugee who remains one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and Rachael, whose insatiable curiosity to touch the past guides her into the lives of countless strangers, bringing her love and tragic loss. Throughout the course of her twenties, Hana's history becomes a guidebook for Rachael in how to live a life empowered by grief. "First in her mesmerizing podcast and now with this stunning book, Rachael Cerrotti has redefined the art of bearing witness. Balancing meticulous devotion to the inherited past with luminous attention to the unfolding present, We Share the Same Sky maps an astonishing journey of tenacity and transformation. Among myriad narratives in the post-Holocaust landscape, this work is a dazzling beacon." "This is both a Holocaust story and a travelogue…Although their experiences as single travelers in Europe were some 70 years apart, Cerrotti had an abiding gift of empathy, especially for current-day young migrants from the Middle East, who like her grandmother, traveled to a European country where they knew no one, and were familiar with neither the language nor the local customs." "A story in which the individual seizes her right to history and her faith by tirelessly shedding light on them and in the process making her family and the world whole." "Rachael Cerrotti's We Share the Same Sky proves the Talmudic adage that to 'save a life, is to save the world entire.' The story chronicles Rachael's impassioned and persistent search for the people and details of her beloved Jewish grandmother's tale of escape, wandering, and survival and reveals to Rachael and to the reader, a world entire. It is a testament that the best stories are true stories and that not only is the personal political, but that history is personal." "A heartbreaking journey to retrace one's family history, resulting in a universal story of profound inspiration…It is not only a personal revelation of immense and poetic magnitude, but also a clarion call to each of us to speak of man's humanity to man." "Readers should be grateful that Cerotti crossed those bridges and takes us along on this journey. She shows us how individuals can make big differences in the lives of others and how important it is to know our histories. Bearing witness has never been more important. Cerotti and her grandmother are powerful guides as to why these Holocaust stories matter." "The Holocaust is soon to be two generations removed from direct experience, which makes it imperative for a new gene |
| System Details |
Mode of access: World Wide Web. |
| Subject |
Cerrotti, Rachael -- Family.
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Holocaust survivors -- Biography.
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Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Biography.
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Jewish women in the Holocaust -- Biography.
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| Added Author |
Cerrotti, Rachael.
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hoopla digital.
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| ISBN |
9781094153612 (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) |
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1094153613 (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) |
| Music No. |
MWT14909165 |
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