MAY 2016  I Highly Recommend "Descendants of Rajgrod!"

I read quite a bit of history and  I don't usually read memoirs. But I am so glad I read this... you wrote it from the heart, it was hard hitting and very honest. Forgiveness is one of the toughest subjects for people to deal with, because of the personal damage that the hurt that was inflicted leaves in its wake! We as humans know how to treat a wound on our body, first thing we learn is don't pick at it and we don't and it heals. The wound to our psyche we love to pick at because we don't want to the wound to heal. We have been wronged, our pride is at stake, we have been lied about and in most cases we don't want to forgive... Only the weak forgive, when in truth only the truly strong forgive and move on...... As a Priest friend said to me one time; Priests, Ministers and Rabbis spend more time helping people deal with their emotional problems then psychiatrists do, and it's cheaper! "LOL" ......... For those of you who have not read this book, "Descendants of Rajgrod" all I have to say is that this  is a special kind of book, of a journey down the road to forgiveness.  Highly recommend it!  - Robert Snow 

July 24, 2016

Lorna Cameron Tough .......I had always believed, Karen, that our bodies carried "our" trauma and I discussed with my therapist last week what you said in your interview and how I wondered whether I carried my father's ptsd. She was in agreement with you. Wake up calls galore for me so I am grateful to you for your validation of your own wounds. Namaste xx

  November 2015   FILM DIRECTOR review

Hi Karen,

We met (briefly) in Evanston when I showed my film  in November. I finally got around to reading your book and I must admit, I wasn't looking forward to it (I've read a LOT of Holocaust era memoirs), but I found it completely compelling and engaging. Your father sounds "typical" in some ways for survivors, but rather extreme in certain colorful ways and your personal history of coming to terms with it all was very moving. And then after all that, the Epilogue … wow! A very moving book............

...........But on a more important level, your story was very moving and touching. Congratulations with it, and with getting it out there!

I had just returned from a trip through Poland before I screens at the synagogue in Evanston, and ironically one of the screenings was in Bialystok, where I had never been before. I didn't know its history, how it had had a large Jewish population, and the recent book about it which painted a very intolerant image of the city, and which got a lot of press and attention in the country, In actuality it was, after 12 trips to Poland, one of the very first places I was at besides Warsaw and Krakow - there've been a few for brief trips, but my experience in Poland is deep, but narrow. I certainly found it fascinating on that level, but also what was, and what is.

Also, I remember your saying you'd be going to Germany, I too am hoping to go there this spring, for a number of screenings. Looking forward!

Once more thank you, and congratulations. Wish you well with it and do hope to stay in touch.

 All best,

 xxxxxx

March 15, 2016    Rev. David J. Wood Senior Minister at the Glencoe Union Church   Karen is an outstanding speaker.  She communicates her story clearly and with great compassion.  She doesn’t just talk about forgiveness—she shows us what it means in real life.

Her story reminds us of why forgiveness is not just an ideal why it is essential to the reality of our lives and to knowing the fullness of life as God intended it to be.

She reminds us that forgiveness is costly—and why choosing not to forgive is even more costly.  Again, thanks for being with us.

Peace,

Rev. David J. Wood

Senior Minister at the Glencoe Union Church

January 2016     Herbert Quelle,  German Consul General

“Karen Kaplan’s memoir "Descendants of Rajgród"  has moved me deeply. The author permits an intimate insight into her soul and the psychological burden that she has carried along as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. She freely shares her family story, especially the difficult relationship with her father, embeds it into the history of the Jewish people constantly confronted with anti-semitism, and shows the reader in a carefully meditated way how she overcame her traumatization. Her private solution lies in forgiveness. Her effort of soul-searching is painful. Not everyone may come to the same conclusions. At any rate, reading her journey to freedom is inspiring and time well spent.”

Herbert Quelle,  German Consul General in Chicago