“First in her mesmerizing podcast and now with this stunning book, Rachael Cerrotti has redefined the art of bearing witness. Balancing meticulous devotion to the inherited past with luminous attention to the unfolding present, We Share the Same Sky maps an astonishing journey of tenacity and transformation. Among myriad narratives in the post-Holocaust landscape, this work is a dazzling beacon.” Elizabeth Rosner, author of Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory
Description
In 2009, Rachael Cerrotti, a college student pursuing a career in photojournalism, asked her grandmother, Hana, if she could record her story. Rachael knew that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and the only one in her family alive at the end of the war. Rachael also knew that she survived because of the kindness of strangers. It wasn’t a secret. Hana spoke about her history publicly and regularly. But, Rachael wanted to document it as only a granddaughter could. So, that’s what they did: Hana talked and Rachael wrote.
Upon Hana’s passing in 2010, Rachael discovered an incredible archive of her life. There were preserved albums and hundreds of photographs dating back to the 1920s. There were letters waiting to be translated, journals, diaries, deportation and immigration papers as well as creative writings from various stages of Hana’s life.
Rachael digitized and organized it all, plucking it from the past and placing it into her present. Then, she began retracing her grandmother’s story, following her through Central Europe, Scandinavia, and across the United States. She tracked down the descendants of those who helped save her grandmother’s life during the war. Rachael went in pursuit of her grandmother’s memory to explore how the retelling of family stories becomes the history itself.
We Share the Same Sky weaves together the stories of these two young women—Hana as a refugee who remains one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and Rachael, whose insatiable curiosity to touch the past guides her into the lives of countless strangers, bringing her love and tragic loss. Throughout the course of her twenties, Hana’s history becomes a guidebook for Rachael in how to live a life empowered by grief.
Praise
“First in her mesmerizing podcast and now with this stunning book, Rachael Cerrotti has redefined the art of bearing witness. Balancing meticulous devotion to the inherited past with luminous attention to the unfolding present, We Share the Same Sky maps an astonishing journey of tenacity and transformation. Among myriad narratives in the post-Holocaust landscape, this work is a dazzling beacon.” Elizabeth Rosner, author of Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory
“The Holocaust is soon to be two generations removed from direct experience, which makes it imperative for a new generation to pick up the burden of moral memory and carry it forward. Rachael Cerrotti’s powerfully felt—and deeply researched—account is a moving and compelling instance of this urgent effort. History’s pain—crushingly—becomes her own. But time, as she says, turns pain into responsibility—a transformation nobly enshrined in this book.” James Carroll, author of The Truth at the Heart of the Lie
“Rachael Cerrotti’s We Share the Same Sky proves the Talmudic adage that to ‘save a life, is to save the world entire.’ The story chronicles Rachael’s impassioned and persistent search for the people and details of her beloved Jewish grandmother’s tale of escape, wandering, and survival and reveals to Rachael and to the reader, a world entire. It is a testament that the best stories are true stories and that not only is the personal political, but that history is personal.” Roberta Grossman, documentary filmmaker
“A story in which the individual seizes her right to history and her faith by tirelessly shedding light on them and in the process making her family and the world whole.” Julie Lindahl, author of The Pendulum: A Granddaughter’s Search for Her Family’s Forbidden Nazi Past
“A heartbreaking journey to retrace one’s family history, resulting in a universal story of profound inspiration…It is not only a personal revelation of immense and poetic magnitude, but also a clarion call to each of us to speak of man’s humanity to man.” Mona Golabek, author of The Children of Willesden Lane
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Aug 16, 2021 |
| Release Date | August 17, 2021 |
| Release Date Machine | 1629158400 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | New Releases, Black Friday Sale, Health & Wellness, Biographies & Memoirs, History, Military, Women, Psychology & Mental Health, Religious, Historical |
Author Bio
Rachael Cerrotti is an award-winning author, educator, and documentary storyteller. In 2019 she released her critically acclaimed podcast (also titled We Share the Same Sky) about her grandmother’s war story. The show was the first-ever narrative podcast based on a Holocaust survivor’s testimony and was listed as one of the best podcasts of the year by Huffington Post. She works with museums and institutions worldwide and in 2021 she became the inaugural Storyteller in Residence for USC Shoah Foundation. Rachael’s story is taught in classrooms across the country and abroad and is a transmedia resource for educators interested in telling stories of past generations through a contemporary lens. Rachael is originally from Boston and is now based in Portland, Maine.
Narrator Bio
Rachael Cerrotti is an award-winning author, educator, and documentary storyteller. In 2019 she released her critically acclaimed podcast (also titled We Share the Same Sky) about her grandmother’s war story. The show was the first-ever narrative podcast based on a Holocaust survivor’s testimony and was listed as one of the best podcasts of the year by Huffington Post. She works with museums and institutions worldwide and in 2021 she became the inaugural Storyteller in Residence for USC Shoah Foundation. Rachael’s story is taught in classrooms across the country and abroad and is a transmedia resource for educators interested in telling stories of past generations through a contemporary lens. Rachael is originally from Boston and is now based in Portland, Maine.
Overview
In 2009, Rachael Cerrotti, a college student pursuing a career in photojournalism, asked her grandmother, Hana, if she could record her story. Rachael knew that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and the only one in her family alive at the end of the war. Rachael also knew that she survived because of the kindness of strangers. It wasn’t a secret. Hana spoke about her history publicly and regularly. But, Rachael wanted to document it as only a granddaughter could. So, that’s what they did: Hana talked and Rachael wrote.
Upon Hana’s passing in 2010, Rachael discovered an incredible archive of her life. There were preserved albums and hundreds of photographs dating back to the 1920s. There were letters waiting to be translated, journals, diaries, deportation and immigration papers as well as creative writings from various stages of Hana’s life.
Rachael digitized and organized it all, plucking it from the past and placing it into her present. Then, she began retracing her grandmother’s story, following her through Central Europe, Scandinavia, and across the United States. She tracked down the descendants of those who helped save her grandmother’s life during the war. Rachael went in pursuit of her grandmother’s memory to explore how the retelling of family stories becomes the history itself.
We Share the Same Sky weaves together the stories of these two young women—Hana as a refugee who remains one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and Rachael, whose insatiable curiosity to touch the past guides her into the lives of countless strangers, bringing her love and tragic loss. Throughout the course of her twenties, Hana’s history becomes a guidebook for Rachael in how to live a life empowered by grief.