A SURVIVOR IS A SURVIVOR !

This is a very unusual blog. I have never done this before but I felt I had to respond. . I wrote a book SALA, MORE THAN A SURVIVOR,Sala Lewis is the survior and she is still alive and speaks to children and adults. This is a review I just read. My response is below. I have never been upset by a review or a rejection but in this case I thought the reviewer didn't realize this wasn't a Holocaust history book this was a very young girl's memories and how she lives her life after having gone through hell.

"Sala - More than a Survivor", August 29, 2011 By Eleanor A. Slanga "Eleanor" Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Sala - More than a Survivor (Kindle Edition) Having read over 45 books on the holocaust, I found this one to be somewhat different in that it portrayed a survivor from a different point of view. Sala most assuredly went through untold hell while in the various camps. However, I felt she took unfair advantage of her sister Dora. She continuously relied upon her sister - sometimes, I felt her dependence bordered on excess. Her sister, I think is the real heroin of this book. She did everything for her little sister Sala. Sala wanted a career in Hollywood and she pursued it. She purports to love her daughter Evelyn so much, so then why did she consistently leave, go off to satisfy her selfishness through her career. She married a man she didn't love - just to satisfy her sister? C'mon that's really lame. She then found another man whom she "adored." She married him in a private ceremony and didn't even invite her own daughter to the wedding. In reiteration, I'm convinced Sala suffered much, but I also think she took unfair advantage of her sister Dora, her borther-in-law Irving and even her husband Jerry. I don't think she even gave her first husband Ben a chance at their marriage. The author(s) are remiss in that they gave no details of her dislike for Ben, perhaps if this were offered, it might shed a different light on the matter. All in all, the book is okay, the descriptive elements are lacking, too many stepped over events. For me, this book just didn't really hang together. Sorry for the suffering of Sala and Dora while in the camps, but Sala needed to get her head on straight and not continue to take advantage of her wonderful sister.

COMMENT - BY AUTHOR - MARSHA CASPER COOK Your initial post: Sep 12, 2011 12:38:49 AM PDT Marsha Cook says: I am the author of this book Marsha Cook. I understand you have read over 45 books on the Holocaust but as the author I felt this book was written from the memories of very young girl who was luckily sheltered by the love her older sister had for her. Her first marriage was not one she would have chosen had she had the opportunity to choose. She thought what she was doing was right and because she was very young her marriage didn't last. The book purposely did not talk about her first husband because that was the survivors wish, and as the author I realized that Sala was brave enough to tell the world her story and she didn't want to discuss certain parts of her life.The events were told exactly as Sala knew them. I don't know if you are a survivor or not but I am not. This book was written for the positive attitude Sala has when she speaks to children and offers them hope if their own lives are less than perfect. She wanted to tell the world to move forward no matter how hard it is and that when you survive what she did it didn't stop her from going on and having a very nice life and a very wonderful family. Her book had only what she knows as the truth and as the writer I felt her strength of character compensated for lacking events. For me, the mere thought of being able to survive and able to grow up and have a life after being in such a living hell was enough. Every survivor knows their own story and that is hers. I am sorry you didn't feel anything for Sala because every time I look at Sala when she speaks all I see is a little girl who survived! Edit this post | Permalink