Book excerpt: A dramatic journey that takes place between youthful aspirations and the brink of despair and terrible death Love, war, and remembering are all powerful themes in this moving story. The difficulties my family faced between the First and Second World Wars are the basis of this unusual book that I, a Holocaust survivor's son, have written. It is a heartbreaking tale of the journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and eventual death. The story is about burning love, the futility of war, and the extermination of innocent people because of different beliefs. Based on a true story, it took me three years of research and uncounted travel to Poland. It is not an easy book to read and is geared toward adult readers.