This is the first of four novels portraying the uplifting and timeless journeys of four generations of the Bird Family. This book is about the lifetime friendship between a seventy-five year old Holocaust survivor and an eighteen year old car accident survivor as well as their incredible experiences both before and after they met. Their will to live life to the fullest and capacity for love conquers all, even death.

The novel is based in part upon my own true story and recovery from a serious car accident.

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An unlikely friendship is kindled when a young disabled man meets a Holocaust survivor.

In this short novel, Rosenfeld weaves together the tragic, yet inspiring stories of two unlikely friends. Jonathan, 18, is a car-accident survivor and working to regain strength in his legs. Sarah, a Holocaust survivor with many emotional scars, searches for ways to live with a past that continually haunts her. When the two meet in a fitness-center Jacuzzi after swimming for rehabilitation, each opens up to reveal a tragic story of overcoming emotional and physical pain. Rosenfeld's novel moves quickly. The author advances the narrative and maintains momentum with the back-and-forth dialogue between the two characters. While the age difference between Jonathan and Sarah renders their relationship platonic, this age gap allows a distance that collapses all artifice. What the reader will find is a true sense of human connection between these characters--one that defies sex, gender and self-consciousness. At times, the reader may long for a more present-tense world. Much of the novel is occupied by back story, and the characters' present-time interactions are brief and in service to the delivery of past stories. Similarly, Jonathan and Sarah are often largely defined by their disabilities and past abuse, leaving little to present them as rounded characters except for their struggles and delicate treatment of one another. However, the author satisfyingly explores their relationship while also addressing the painful, and somewhat irreversible, nature of both their conditions.

A powerful story, told through conversation, that reveals the importance of a genuine and generous connection.

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• Literature & FictionGenre FictionFamily Life
• Literature & FictionHistorical Fiction

• Publication Date: March 15, 2012
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 157 Pages
• File Size: 410 KB