My Dear Boy cover art

My Dear Boy

A World War II Story of Escape, Exile, and Revelation

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My Dear Boy

Written by: Joanie Holzer Schirm
Narrated by: Kate Mulligan, Traber Burns
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About this listen

After the death of Joanie Holzer Schirm's parents in 2000, she found hundreds of letters, held together by rusted paperclips and stamped with censor marks, sent from Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, China, and South and North America, along with journals, vintage film, taped interviews, and photographs. In working through these various materials documenting the life of her father, Oswald "Valdik" Holzer, she learned of her family history through his remarkable experiences of exile and loss, resilience and hope.

In this posthumous memoir, Schirm elegantly recreates her father's youthful voice as he comes of age as a Jew in interwar Prague, escapes from a Nazi-held army unit, practices medicine in China's war-ravaged interior, and settles in the United States to start a family. Introducing us to a diverse cast of characters ranging from the humorous to the menacing, Holzer's life story is an inspirational account of survival during wartime, a cinematic epic spanning multiple continents, and ultimately a tale with a twist-a book that will move listeners for generations to come.

©2019 Joanie Holzer Schirm (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Historical War Witty Imperialism Hungary Holocaust Self-Determination
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Different side of the Jewish struggles of WW2

A very different story from the WW 2 era. Loved every minute of it from start to finish

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Profile Image for Roberta W

Look closely at those boxes

One of the best biographies of escape from Europe and the Nazis I have read. Valdik kept meticulous diaries which give perspectives on life before, during and after WWII unlike others. He lived a truly unique life. Along with the letters he saved, the story his daughter was able to pull together from his papers after his death is remarkable. Very well done.

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