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A timeless, universal wish.
In the Czech language, Poslední přání translates to last wish. Seventy-five years ago today, in Nazi-occupied Bohemia my Jewish grandfather Arnošt Holzer sat down at his desk in Prague and wrote his Poslední přání in a letter to my father. By then, my young physician Dad, Oswald “Valdik” Holzer had fled his native land in…
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March 14, 1939 – This day in history for Valdik Holzer
This day in history, March 14, 1939, my father served as he had for the previous seventeen months as a Czechoslovak Army soldier protecting his country in Carpathian Ruthenia in the easternmost Slovakian region. On that day, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation…
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TIME TO WRITE…Tales from the Writing Journey
TIME TO WRITE…Tales from the Writing Journey Along my now nine-year writing journey, I’ve encountered many incidents that I believe entail a wink from the cosmos. This short story involves a nod from the star character of my books-my dad-prodding me from the great beyond. Let me know if you agree that this sounds like…
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Book Clubs provide a way of distinguishing between the things that matter
Whenever I’m a guest author at a book club where members have read Adventurers Against Their Will, I’m filled with joy and writer-satisfaction. This week has been particularly special as I found myself among like-minded women who value world history, protecting human rights, American democracy, and our core values. They get the importance of freedom…
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Ban of Refugees in America – Then and Now
As the world stirs with anxiety and debate about US President Trump’s executive order that bans refugees from seven Muslim countries, as always, it is important to look to the past to best understand the context in which current affairs unfold. Reprinted from PostBulletin.com – a wise letter from Susan Bailey Jan. 27, 2017 was…
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Education is power.
As a nonfiction author filled with passion about my WWII subjects—refugees thrust into a cruel world—and their relevance with the refugee crisis of today, the invitation to speak in a college setting with bright, inquisitive students is a special honor. February 2, 2017, I had the chance for open dialogue with twenty University of Central…
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Why I Write Nonfiction – Real Life Stories of Connection
As I reach my ninth anniversary of the still-feeling-new chapter of my life as an author, once again I receive a reminder of why I love what I do. From the books I write, I find myself a connector of people who are tied in myriad ways to my main character, Oswald “Valdik” Holzer—my dad. …
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New Year Optimism and a Mom in Spirit
Each New Year for me is a little bittersweet. I always yearn for great optimism and hope for the coming year, but a piece of that feeling fell away when seventeen years ago I lost my mother – Ruth Alice Lequear, known affectionately by many as “Chick” or to her grandchildren as “Chickie.” It was…
Steadfast Ink: The Journey Within
MY DEAR BOY: A World War II Story of Escape, Exile, and Revelation
Adventurers Against Their Will
