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. WoodSenior Minister at the Glencoe Union Church
MAY 18, 2016 A review from my speaking engagement at North Shore Senior Center
................We had a speaker yesterday who brought a message of forgiveness which was riveting and memorable. Karen L. Kaplan is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who inflicted on his family the suffering he had experienced. She wrote and self-published her memoir of a traumatic life and her escape from the torments of untold millions of Jews over the millennia. Her journey into wellness was successful because she learned to forgive. An important theme of her story is the epigenetic effect of those centuries of evil oppression on the DNA of a people. If you don’t know Karen, get in touch with her. The healing message she brought us is one which will greatly bless the people at Trinity. She lives in Highland Park and her email is karenkaplan@att.net. Her webpage is www.KarenLKaplan.com. She is a compelling and articulate speaker who brings a message which all the world should hear.
John F Swenson
JANUARY 2015 Rotary Member of Highland Park I just finished reading DESCENDANTS OF RAJGROD last night and I was moved as well as inspired by the message.... your story and your viewpoint are making me evaluate my own perspective and approach. I come from a passionate Italian-American family with its own tendency to catalog and retain “transgressions”. Coupled with being raised Catholic, through which we were always reminded that we were unworthy of those whose saintly suffering came before us, there’s a tendency to feel guilty or naïve about letting go of the past.
I cannot even begin to comprehend the brutality and hopelessness of your father’s childhood experiences. I can appreciate how the circumstances created the man and I find his story inspiring yet tragic.
I can fathom how difficult it must have been for you to grow up amid the challenges related by the examples in your book. That said, I apologize for appearing presumptuous enough to draw any parallels to my comparatively charmed upbringing. Your message of forgiveness resonates with me. Genuine forgiveness is about letting go of everything....and opening up my possibilities of greater things for my future.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and for writing the book. I wish you nothing but peace and joy in your life. I am sharing your book with my family and I want to thank you for inspiring me to go further and purer in my own personal and professional life.
Warmest regards,
Rotary Member of Highland Park
August 2015 Ross Rosenberg, Author and Best Seller of The Human Magnet Syndrome Her journey of healing, reconciliation and forgiveness is moving testament of the human condition that distinctly reminds me of Victor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" and Elie Wiesel's "Night." Her triumph over overwhelming and seemingly impossible obstacles will inspire anyone who has been hurt by unspeakable trauma and wishes to make sense of it while healing from it. Because of her book I was able to forgive me own father and better understand my Jewish roots. I cannot recommend this book more highly.
This book with the help of my therapist helped me overcome the anger, resentment and hostility I had been holding onto my whole life. I would by lying if i said it "cured me" of it all, but the struggle I have with my darker feelings are more clear, specific, and not that of a hurt child (I had been carrying around).
I cannot recommend it more highly. More about Karen and her book: Descendants of Rajgrod:
Ross Rosenberg, Author and Best Seller of The Human Magnet Syndrome
April 2015 A review from GreeceDear karen,what you went through was not just a transformation. To me, it looks like a trip to hell. ........... Thank God you are back, alive and well. And thanks for sharing.The book is not a simple memoir, in an era where pseudo-memoirs are in abudance. Your book is what I call in greek "katathesi phychis" or "soul submission" according to Google translation, though another exprssion such as "bare of soul" maybe more appropriate..........Txxxx"Those who do not forgive are those who are least capable of changing the circumstances of their lives".