Survivor Biography

Between 1930 and 1932, Henry Ford sent 450 of his Detroit employees plus their families to live in Gorky, Russia, to operate a new manufacturing facility. This is the true story of one of those families—Carl and Elisabeth Werner and their young daughter Margaret—and their terrifying life in Russia under brutal dictator Joseph Stalin.

Meet Barbara Reichmann, once known as Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrko´w Trybunalski.

In this moving memoir, Joy Clausen Soto vividly brings us into her world. We see her go from her dream job to fighting for her life, and how she is able to come back from it all. You can't avoid falling in love with her quirks, indomitable spirit, and wry sense of humor. Soto takes listeners on a compelling journey as she faces cancer and the challenges she encounters while re-entering "normal" life.

As a young political geek, Matt Latimer dreamed of one day heading to Washington to work for a conservative president and usher in another Reagan Revolution. With the support of his slightly mortified liberal parents, he tried to do just that - but his youthful exuberance began to cool as he moved up the rungs of power.

As a young political geek, Matt Latimer dreamed of one day heading to Washington to work for a conservative president and usher in another Reagan Revolution. With the support of his slightly mortified liberal parents, he tried to do just that - but his youthful exuberance began to cool as he moved up the rungs of power.

Journalist Nicole Madigan was stalked for over three years. The relentless and debilitating experience wreaked havoc in her personal and professional life, leaving her trapped in a constant state of fear and anxiety. Nicole uses her own story as an entry point to examine the psychology behind stalking behaviours and their impact on victim-survivors. Whether by a stranger, acquaintance or former partner, stalking can have a catastrophic effect on a victim-survivor's mental, social and financial wellbeing. At its worst, it can lead to physical violence, even death.

At the age of nine, Tomi Reichental, along with his mother, brother, grandmother, aunt and cousin, were incarcerated in the notorious Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Their crime: being Jews in Slovakia under Tiso’s regime which collaborated in the deportation of over 80 per cent of its Jewish population. He recalls the daily brutality, starvation and dehumanisation of the inmates.

My life has been full of unrequested lessons. Some traumatic. Others can be described as torturous. But I have always learned something of value. I am a survivor. "Angst to Ascension" is part of my story, in poetic form. I say 'part' of my story because my story is still being written. But, no matter what life brings my way, I promise to keep surviving and learning. I will continue my ascension.

When Leah Cik Roth decides to write memoirs for her children, writer Menucha Meinstein walks into her life as a volunteer. The two develop the deepest of human bonds as together they uncover Leah's lifelong bitterness and suppressed Holocaust memories. Through soul writing, they struggle to relive Leah's stories, revealing heroic patterns of resilience from the young age of five. Her memories bring out fresh pain and renewed feelings of loss and loneliness. The Holocaust is merely a backdrop to Leah's life. Together, the two women share joy in the legacy that Leah leaves for the world.

More than 200 stories of killers, con artists, master thieves, and brazen kidnappers—and strong survivors, detectives, forensic breakthroughs, and legal minds on all sides of the action. In other words, a mini-encyclopedia perfect for newcomers and hard-core crime fans alike. Here are the big names—Bundy, Manson, Berkowitz, Borden, and the Black Dahlia. The lingering mysteries—like JonBenet Ramsey and Natalie Wood. The disturbing puzzle of the Zodiac Killer. The true story behind the most lurid headline ever: “Headless Body in the Topless Bar.” And more.

Jason Sommer's father, Jay, is ninety-eight years old and losing his memory. More than seventy years after arriving in New York from WWII-torn Europe, he is forgetting the stories that defined his life, the life of his family, and the lives of millions of Jews who were affected by Nazi terror. Observing this loss, Jason vividly recalls the trip to Eastern Europe the two took together in 2001.

For the first time, Euna Lee - the young wife, mother, and film editor detained in North Korea - tells a harrowing, but ultimately inspiring, story of survival and faith in one of the most isolated parts of the world. On March 17, 2009, Lee and her Current TV colleague Laura Ling were working on a documentary about the desperate lives of North Koreans fleeing their homeland for a chance at freedom when they were violently apprehended by North Korean soldiers.

Have you ever been told that you can’t do something, even if that something is your dream? Mohammed Yousuf’s Ascending Adversity will prove to you that you can.

After escaping war-torn France, where 18 members of her family were murdered in the Holocaust, Gisèle Huff arrived in the US with her mother. It was 1947, and they had $400 to their name. Gisèle quickly found her footing in America, eventually earning a PhD at Columbia University, running for Congress, and launching a spectacular career in K–12 education.

Through the lens of the natural world around her, the young cancer survivor reveals the intensely private and deeply emotional aspects of fighting for her life. Sometimes with a pinch of humor but always with raw honesty, she holds on to bright hope that warmly invites you to share in her journey.

In this truly inspirational memoir, you will get an up-close and personal look into this young woman's journey of stage four cancer, along with the trails and tribulations leading up to her diagnosis—giving you an intimate look into a cancer survivor's story of her enduring through treatments, and how she mentally, emotionally, and spiritually overcame her disease.

Assigned to the 504th Bombardment Group in the Pacific Theater, Hanley became a flight engineer on a B-29 bomber squad. On his seventh mission, he and his crew were shot down over Japan. In Accused War Criminal, Hanley shares his experiences from his training and commissioning to his deployment on a failed mission that led to his capture. He recounts how he managed to survive as a prisoner of war until his eventual rescue and recovery. With candid honesty and telling details, this is a humbling and harrowing tale of one man's bravery under unimaginable circumstances.

In 2010, at the age of 37, he began feeling a constant ticking inside his body, not knowing that what he was feeling was a virtual time-bomb that could explode at any moment. Seven months later, he was diagnosed with a rare and malignant form of cancer. In From Fear to Faith, author Matt Talford takes you on a journey through his personal war on cancer and shares the physical, mental, and spiritual tools that inspired him to reverse what he referred to as “a slow death”.

This book chronicles the journey of Eritrean-born Joseph Woldu. As a child refugee, he found himself having to adapt to changes of place, language, and customs; then as a man forced to relearn much of the same after involvement in a disastrous accident two days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What makes Joseph's story so incredible is not that he survived change and tragedy, but how he continually found the strength to improve himself and his circumstances. His story reflects the importance good relationships play in our lives.

Hilda M. Valentine grew up on a small farm, attended college, and moved to New York for a better life. Working in insurance claims for more than 20 years, she climbed the ranks to a claims management position and finally landed her dream job as a supervising case manager for a structured settlement company. Her office was located on the 100th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade center in Manhattan. The position started in August of 2001. But one month later, on September 11th, everything changed.