Reviewer Wendy Thomas. Wendy lives in Southern New Hampshire with her husband and six children, ages 9-17 and has been published in various regional magazines and newspapers. She writes a weekly column, Simple Thrift for the Nashua Telegraph.
Author: Jeannette Katzir
Publisher: Jeannette Katzir
ISBN: 978-0-615-27483-6
Author: Jeannette Katzir
Publisher: Jeannette Katzir
ISBN: 978-0-615-27483-6
Click Here To Purchase Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila
I'm always impressed when people can take family history and weave it into a suspenseful, intriguing story. Such is the case with Jeannette Katzir's Broken Birds – The Story of My Momila. This is a book that reminds you time and time again that our reactions to life events affects all with whom we come in contact.
The first part of the book takes place in Europe during World War II. Katzir's mother; Channa was a Jewish resistance fighter and her father; Nathan was a concentration camp survivor. The circumstances of their survival are heart-wrenching and inspiring as they conquer one hurdle after another in an effort to simply stay alive.
The two met and eventually married each other years after the war after having started new lives in New York City. Soon children started coming and warned not to have any additional children after her third, Channa with her headstrong personality went ahead and added two more babies eventually giving them a rather large family of 5 children. Channa's stubbornness and need for independence is what shapes the family eventually causing deep strife among its members.
It is the growing up of the children raised by Channa that is really what is at the heart of this story. Dysfunction can come from many sources and the survival of a cruel and terrifying war had its impact on both the survivors and their offspring. People are not trusted, relationships are strained, and alliances are formed often to the detriment of another.
“I discovered some years later that some parents don't want their children to be happier than they had been. It is not because they are competitive, but rather because it makes them feel lesser than. At first, I found that hard to believe, but over time, there was simply too much evidence to deny it.”
Katzir has done a remarkable job in collecting facts, stories, and details about her parents' experiences. Honestly, with her parents coming so close to being killed time and time again, her family's history has a page turning feel to it.
With clear insight and a deft storyteller's skill, Katzir continues her family's story to the present where after her mother's death, the family is divided as the true results of their mother's influence becomes apparent. Broken Birds is an unapologetic and intelligent discussion of resultant pain in its many forms due to survival.
Broken Birds is a well-written study in personal insight, relative ties, and human patience as a woman discovers who she is because of and despite her family's past.
As a child of Holocaust survivors, Jeannette Katzir's life has been a study of the lasting effects of war. Inspired by her own family experiences, Katzir has dedicated years to in-depth research of the impact of World War II on survivors and their children. She currently resides in the Los Angeles area with her husband, not far from her two children and grandson.