This powerful little book written by Akira and Ellie Ohiso landed on my desk earlier this year. “Surviving” is many stories in one. It is a story about one convert’s navigation to his Jewish identity. Non Jews do not always realize that the Jewish world is so separated… that the argument of “Who is a Jew?” is often a very hot controversial topic among the Jewish community. (I personally like the theory Rabbi Peter Gluck of Congregation Bet Chaverim in Canton, MI holds. That is: If you ask someone if they are Jewish and they answer “Yes!” Then they obviously are Jewish… Really, given the history, who in their right mind would claim to be a Jew if they weren’t! — as a convert, myself, I always felt a certain satisfaction in being able to help repopulate the 6,000,000 lost in WWII!)
It is also a story of many Holocaust Survivors living in New York City. Many of them living in NYC physically while mentally and spiritually they are still “surviving” in the Warsaw Ghetto or the concentration camps of World War II, unable to let go of the past, they are stuck in a mindset that creates a life that matches their expectations.
The two themes work together. They are intertwined in the book in a way that gives an outsider insight into this special world and all its richness. And as a lover of NYC I can’t wait to go back to Central Park and explore the gates and their corresponding neighborhoods.
The stories are real, every detail adds focus and color. The book includes photos, art work maps, certificates and letters lending to the authenticity of the tale and the delight of the reader. I highly recommend “Surviving” as a great book to add to your collection.
