80 Years after Kristallnacht Can We Still Believe in Humanity's Goodness?
Second-generation Holocaust survivor Ellen Korman Mains explores this question in her #1 Amazon bestselling memoir Buried Rivers
BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- November 9 marks the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass. On that night, 100 Jews were killed in Germany and Austria as Nazi Stormtroopers destroyed Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues, setting the stage for the Holocaust that followed. Over six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust and the lives of the survivors were forever changed as were those of their children who were yet to be.
In her new book, Ellen Korman Mains, whose mother survived Auschwitz, explores her family's lost history and describes her life-changing journeys in Germany and Poland where she felt the souls of the dead reaching out to her. In Buried Rivers: A Spiritual Journey into the Holocaust (West Lake Books), she shares powerful connections between spirituality and trauma, and explores family loyalty, religious boundaries and the invisible presence of ancestors.
In an interview she can talk about:
- What compels her to make frequent trips to Poland
- How we can experience less suffering by turning toward it instead of turning away, and how meditation can help
- The benefit of honoring and connecting with our ancestors and ways we can do that
- Visiting Holocaust sites such as Auschwitz
- Whether it is possible to be a Jew and a Buddhist too
Praise for Buried Rivers
"An evocative and deeply spiritual book about a journey through space and time that also unfolds into a mystery about how the body carries and receives messages from the past. Read this and be prepared to think about your own ancestors in a new way." — Sonya Huber, author of Opa Nobody and Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, and Other Essays from a Nervous System
"A rich prose journey into the author's ancestral homeland where she unearths her Jewish family's trauma legacy. Her search for answers is gutsy, yet elegant. Hers is a tempered soul, refined by her spiritual practice—Tibetan Buddhism—which adds a surprising layer of complexity to her quest. A beautiful and important memoir that uplifts as much as it compels." — Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Ph.D., author of With Roots in Heaven and Wounds Into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma (2019)
"A compelling personal spiritual journey that crosses religious boundaries in order to tackle some of the deepest mysteries of life and death. … Reveals how the past, present, and future intersect in the very cells of our bodies, showing us how we can more fully discover spiritual truth and personal healing through the conscious meeting of our ancestors as they appear to us in the here and now. [Ellen's journey] inspires us to see how the light of basic goodness can shine even in the darkest of times." — Zvi Ish-Shalom, Ph.D., founder of the Kedumah Institute, author of The Kedumah Experience: The Primordial Torah
About the author
Ellen Korman Mains was trained by the late Tibetan Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and has taught and led meditation retreats in North America and Europe. A former instructor of Zen Archery at Naropa University, she continues to explore the universality of spiritual principles and guides individuals and groups in cultivating compassionate self-awareness. Born and educated in Montreal, she spends the majority of her time in Boulder, Colo., but travels frequently to Poland to engage with her roots while forging friendships, teaching, and promoting dialog.
Contact: Ellen Korman Mains, (720) 292-4520; [email protected], www.EllenKormanMains.com
SOURCE Ellen Korman Mains
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