May 20th - 31st, 2024
*Finalist for the Hawthorne Prize 2024*
"Alice knew that Selma sometimes felt judged by their mother and didn't always like it when Alice was praised and Selma was not. Alice glanced over at her sister, but Selma was smiling at Alice. In what Alice understood might be Selma's last act of generosity towards her sister, Selma was going to let Alice bask in the glow of Emma's pride toward her elder daughter. Then the three shared a hug, a hug that seemed to last forever."
Alice Heppenheimer, born into a prosperous German Jewish family around the turn of the twentieth century, comes of age at a time of growing opportunities for women.
So, when she turns 21 years old, she convinces her strict family to allow her to attend art school, and then pursues a career in women's fashion. Alice prospers in her career and settles into married life, but she could not anticipate a Nazi Germany, where simply being Jewish has become an existential threat. Stumbling Stones is a novel based on the true story of a woman driven to achieve at a time of persecution and hatred, and who is reluctant to leave the only home she has ever known.
But as strong and resilient as Alice is, she now faces the ultimate challenge - will she and her husband be able to escape Nazi Germany or have they waited too long to leave?
Stumbling Stones is based on the true story of Bonnie Suchman's husband’s great Aunt Alice, a woman born into a prosperous German Jewish family around the turn of the twentieth century. Alice was a woman ahead of her time, pursuing a fashion career and ignoring the growing Nazi threat to Jews. She could not imagine a Germany where simply being Jewish was an existential threat. But when she could no longer look away, she faced the horrifying realization that it might be too late to escape?
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Bonnie Suchman
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Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celia. :-)
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