Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila

Product Details

World War II has long since ended, and yet Jaclyn and her four brothers and sisters grow up learning to survive it. Having pulled through the Holocaust on the principle of constant distrust, their mother, Channa, dutifully teaches her children to cling to one another while casting a suspicious eye to the outside world. When Channa dies, the unexpected contents of her will force her adult children to confront years of suppressed indignation. For Jaclyn and her siblings, the greatest war will not be against strangers, but against one another.

Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila is Jeannette Katzir’s achingly honest memoir of the enduring effects of war. From her parents’ harrowing experiences during the Holocaust to her own personal battles, Katzir exposes the maladies of heart and mind that those broken by war inevitably and unintentionally pass down to the generations that follow.

Customer Reviews ::

A story of family dynamics - Joanna Daneman - Middletown, DE USA
Jeannette Katzir wrote the story of her Momila, her mother, who survived the Holocaust and went on to raise a family in the US. As is often the case, sibling rivalry has the fans flamed by the desires of a mother to support the weakest bird in the nest. Jeannette's will causes a family war that splits the family apart in ways that are instructive.

This is a great memoir about a post-WWII immigrant Jewish family, but it's also a very good memoir about family dynamics and issues that span across generations and are as relevant today as sixty years ago. After you read this, you may re-evaluate your relationship with your parents and siblings, and you probably will be thinking about your own family. Hard to read because of the pain and difficulties each person causes each other, but really instructive, too. A very insightful book.