Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman

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Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman

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Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman

A moving account of a mother and daughter who visit Germany to face the Holocaust tragedy that has caused their family decades of intergenerational trauma, from the author of Brothers, Sisters, Strangers

Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award

In 1938, when Edith Westerfeld was twelve, her parents sent her from Germany to America to escape the Nazis. Edith survived, but most of her family perished in the death camps. Unable to cope with the loss of her family and homeland, Edith closed the door on her past, refusing to discuss even the smallest details.

Fifty-four years later, when the void of her childhood was consuming both her and her family, she returned to Stockstadt with her grown daughter Fern. For Edith the trip was a chance to reconnect and reconcile with her past; for Fern it was a chance to learn what lay behind her mother's silent grief. Together, they found a town that had dramatically changed on the surface, but which hid guilty secrets and lived in enduring denial.

On their journey, Fern and her mother shared many extraordinary encounters with the townspeople and--more importantly--with one another, closing the divide that had long stood between them. Motherland is a story of learning to face the past, of remembering and honoring while looking forward and letting go. It is an account of the Holocaust's lingering grip on its witnesses; it is also a loving story of mothers and daughters, roots, understanding, and, ultimately, healing.
Chapman, Fern Schumer: - Fern Schumer Chapman is the author of Motherland: Beyond the Holocaust: A Daughter's Journey to Reclaim the Past, which was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. She lives in northern Illinois.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780140286236
ISBN 10 0140286233
Title Motherland
Author Fern Schumer Chapman
Condition Unavailable
Binding type Paperback
Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
Year published 2001-04-01
Number of pages 208
Prizes Short-listed for National Jewish Book Award (Autobiography) 2000
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable