Why Me? A True Story Of Reconciliation

Showing of 31 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Interesting reading, not quite what I expected. The book's description had me thinking it was centered on her life in Britain as a German war bride. It isnt really--a little 10 or 12 pages briefly addresses her first year or so in her new country.

But the majority of the story is about her life in wartime Aachen, Germany. And it's worth reading, particularely since her experience is of a totally average Jane, not political, not involved in the military or the war effort. I've read a lot of WW2 memoirs and biographies, and they're often centered on either someone who was in combat, or had some other more unique vantage point--a member of the Resistance, an aide to a famous name, or swept into the Holocaust, etc.

This book gives a good sense of daily life in Nazi Germany for the average person. It is a biography, written by her daughter, not a memoir. True story of a family living in Kindle Edition Verified Purchase.

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True story of a family living in Germany during the war. Told within the real history of what happened. Photo, maps, and copies of actual documents added much to the story. In light of the fact that I've descended from Germans who came to America in the late 's and having uncle's who served as American soldiers during WWII anything about that time period interests me. This true story gives another perspective of that time and what the average German family had to endure-things most of us don't really take into consideration when we think of the Germans. The author has done a good job of telling their story.

When I read this book, I knew I was reading a true story. Ingrid Dixon describes the experiences of her mother before, during and after the war in Aachen, Germany as objectively and as detailed as possible. I felt how she struggled to present the truth, the full truth. This is not easy. In addition she interchanged the story with relevant historical facts.

Switching between a personal story and factual accounts is not easy. At times fluent transitions were missing and the sentence structure read like a translation from German. These are minor flaws. Besides writing about her mother, Ingrid gives a loving portrait of her father as he courts her mother in spite of all the obstacles presented - the ridicule of his buddies and the official policies.

This is a book you will remember. While it describes life in Aachen, during and in the run-up to WW-II, it could have been about life in any German town, well away from the capital or the centers of power. Until defeat brought them face to face with the consequences. It is a timeless lesson, being played out on the world stage today, in the erosion of democratic institutions, or ignoring the consequences of climate change.

Short-term gains at the expense of long-term costs. The second front the author captures so well is the Pygmalion-like alienation that is felt by so many immigrants as they try to win acceptance by their new societies.

She spoke little English, and was predictably looked down-upon by many, in a population not noted for its acceptance of foreigners. Lastly, casting the trunk as a central character was brilliant. It symbolizes roots, continuity, the preservation of what is best about the past - and its endurance through the turmoils of the present.

I chose this rating because I have been watching Hunting Hitler and it is a great companion book to that tv series. I chose this rating because it is a true account with supporting documents and pictures. You get a true sense of how long the war lasted. It was a compelling story and so well researched and steeped in the historical unfolding of WWII in Germany. Also, just so readable and well written. I have no anchors to this history but you caught my attention and fed my curiosity immensely. I loved the story of the trunk and the links to the generations in this family.

I never got to finish the book it was lost at the Midway airport in Chicago, IL. See all 31 reviews.

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Wolves at the Door: There is no reconciliation. I'm angry and distraught that this man walked away free. In fact, he wasn't disbarred until approximately 20 years after he slammed the bat into the heads of his children and wife He didn't want his wife and children to suffer the shame of his alleged mental illness and resulting inability to earn a living. The women in his wife's support group for parents of handicapped children -- women who had admired and loved Bob Rowe for his active participation in his handicapped son Christopher's life -- carried similar animosity.

In fact, Salamon spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on these women and their children. At times, it seems to distract from the story. But Salamon apparently has a purpose in doing this -- to help the readers understand how deeply a parent can love a handicapped child.

It is with these children that her passion overpowers her journalism: If we can't be happy with Christopher, if he is going to be a tragedy, if he is going to make a tragedy of our life and our family, then he has to go. The only one who didn't go was Bob Rowe. Indeed, in his 60s, Bob Rowe fathered a healthy daughter with the dropout nun 30 years his junior.

Seems to me, he wasn't the one who needed to plead insanity. But as any of the many devout Catholics in this book may have said, "All things work for good for those who love the Lord and try to do His will. A Novel Chang and Eng: A Novel Banvard's Folly: An American Legend Take the Cannoli: Essays A note to readers: Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press.

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