Welcome to Litsy!

“Our painful experiences aren‘t a liability—they‘re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength.”

Some very deep and insightful story are present. Overall worth a read .

It took me longer than expected to read this memoir. The first half is a powerful Holocaust survivor story, but it abruptly changes to a tale of a lonely American 1950s housewife. The second half of the book becomes more interesting as the author studies psychology and begins clinical practice. Dr. Ever is a truly inspiring human being! #botm 💃

January‘s Reflective Morning Read

“To be passive is to let others decide for you. To be aggressive is to decide for others. To be assertive is to decide for yourself. And to trust that there is enough, that you are enough.”

Having read a lot of books based on holocaust, this one stands out for me as it's written by a psychologist where she focuses not only on surviving the camps but also the life after the liberation, the grief of losing parents, losing your childhood to the war and most importantly - how to be resilient.
Bonus- this book is filled with beautiful quotable lines.

Heartbreaking, horrifying, uplifting story of survival, resilience and life-long healing. I couldn‘t put it down, a must read for all.

This book is called in English The Choice. And yes is a hard book. No it doesn't focus on her experience in Auschwitz. It focus on the importance of healing. She uses her experience as well as the experience of some of her patients to show us the long road to heal. Highly recommended!

This is the kind of book that changes your life, it gives you more conscience and it makes you think twice about everything that you do, and of course, it teaches you how important is the gift of life.

I can't reach my book.

#NeverDisturbtheKitty
#CatsOfLitsy
#CrazyDaisy

Sunday recharge. Daisy approves. ❤🐈

#CrazyDaisy
#CatsOfLitsy

It‘s a beautiful book about hope, courage and overcoming insurmountable horrors. It helps to feel more grateful and has an uplifting tone. My key takeaways: 1. People adopt self-defeating behaviour - seek approval; seek attention or want affection. 2. We grieve what happened and what didn‘t happen. 3. Being happy means taking responsibility for self. 4. Strength isn‘t reacting it‘s responding.

Dr Eger makes this story one of hope even though the subject matter is tough. I cried several times over her story as well as several of her patient‘s stories. Highly recommend this book for all..

"Each moment is a choice."

Wow, what an experience this book was! A powerful journey from start to finish. Mrs. Eger talks openly not only about her terrible experinces during the war and her imprisonment at Auschwitz, but also about how much she struggled afterwards and how she used her experience and expertise in helping other people. I genuinely feel like I learned a lot reading this book and I can only thank Mrs. Eger for sharing her life and her wisdom with us. ⬇️

Our painful experiences aren‘t a liability—they‘re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength.

Love this book very much. Such an inspiring and genuine book. Highly recommend!

A read that was almost too intense for right now; this is as much about the author‘s recovery from Auschwitz as the time she spent there. Beautifully written, harrowing but hopeful. It‘s left me reeling a bit.

A different take on a Survivor "story", Dr Eger takes us through her life after liberation. How she manages to find freedom and forgiveness, sharing her experiences. I honestly took away so much from this book and am honoured to have read it - thank you Dr Eger for sharing your memories and thoughts with us.

This was so good, one part Holocaust survivor and one part how Dr. Eger applies her knowledge to help others as a therapist. Good advice here as well as a heart breaking story. Also #booked2020

I must admit, this was not what I expected. It‘s almost more of a self help book rather than a memoir as a lot of the book is about her patients and how people deal with trauma. Some serious trigger warnings as this book covers every kind of suffering. But she handles it all with such humanity and kindness. What an inspirational woman. I‘d highly recommend it to anyone suffering with PTSD. #Hungary #ReadingEurope2020

What an amazing book. I cannot comprehend how Edith, sent to Auschwitz as a teenager, has such capacity for forgiveness and understanding and has been able to use that to help so many other people.

‘Our painful experiences aren‘t a liability - they‘re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength‘

Everyone should read this book.

#readingeurope2020
#hungary

On International Women‘s Day, I would like to celebrate and acknowledge this wonderful woman.
There are some very sad bits in the book, as you would expect, but this is definitely an inspiring story of how she tried to move on and not only move on herself, but dedicate her life to helping other people do the same. Her introspection regarding all she had been through was educational to read.
An awesome woman.

Starting this one for a weekend buddy read with @Caroline2 and @squirrelbrain

#ukkindledeal- today!! 😁

This remarkable lady is Edith Eger. At age 16, an aspiring Olympic gymnast, she was sent to Auschwitz with her sister and parents. The Choice is her life story, not just her time in the camps, but the impact that year had, right through to present day. In her 40s, she trained as a psychologist, and the last part of the book discusses her practice, patients, and work on healing & recovery.
👇

Edith‘s 10-yr old daughter, a voracious reader, finds a book, with pictures.
Auschwitz.
She asks.
Edith‘s husband explains: ‘Your mother was there‘.

😢💔

This is such a powerful book. Echoing her life, her time in the camps is just a small part, time-wise, but living with the trauma, pretending it never happened, particularly as her children grow older - equally devastating.

“We have lived through hell only to become someone else's nightmare.”

This is heartbreaking. Having survived camps, marches and starvation, and been liberated by American GIs, the girls discover that they are viewed as transgressors, scroungers, a source of fear, ‘the enemy‘.

3: This is a must-read.The little details, jokes made by prisoners, music playing when they arrived, and the extent of the physical deterioration, were so elucidating to the reader. It is mostly a self-help book about how to live with the bad things that have happened and will happen in life. It's well-written and has excellent counsel, but it's vital to read as an account about the evil that people are capable of committing against each other.

“Ser pasiva es permitir que otros decidan por ti. Ser agresiva es decidir por los otros. Ser asertiva es decidir por ti misma.”

“Podemos decidir: prestar atención a lo que hemos perdido o prestar atención a lo que todavía tenemos”.

“A menudo, los pequeños disgustos de nuestra vida simbolizan pérdidas mayores; las preocupaciones aparentemente insignificantes indican un dolor mayor”.

“Lejos de disminuir el dolor, todo lo que nos negamos a aceptar se convierte en una realidad tan inexpugnable como los muros de cemento y las barras de acero. Si nos permitimos afligirnos por nuestras pérdidas, heridas y decepciones, estamos condenados a revivirlas. La libertad reside en aceptar lo sucedido. La libertad significa armarnos de valor para desmantelar la prisión pieza a pieza”.

“Con el tiempo, he aprendido que puedo decidir como reaccionar ante el pasado. Puedo sentirme desgraciada o esperanzada. Puedo sentirme deprimida o feliz. Siempre tenemos la posibilidad de decidir, la posibilidad de tener el control”.

#RedRoseSeptember I‘m always in awe and complete admiration when a survivor of any unspeakable horror is able to acknowledge that despite the trauma and hell they‘ve been through, they still see the hope and beauty that exists in this world. A reminder to each of us, every day is a blessing 🙏🏻#WonderfulLife The Choice is still on my TBR and I‘ve read Viktor Frankl‘s powerful manifesto. #NeverAgain #NeverForget

Thank you so much for the gift @Caroline2 ! ❤️ It‘s a definite for a buddy read.... I think we should check to see how many of the same books we have on each of our shelves - a lot, I reckon!

The bookmark is lovely and I adore the card - I too would eat all of the cake, given the chance! 😁🍰🐿

This book made me feel so many different emotions. I think it‘s incredible how a person can overcome something so dreadful and traumatic as Auschwitz. Such an emotional book. I loved it and loved being able to have an insight into this lady‘s life. ❤️❤️

I enjoyed the beginning but the ending was very long. Anyone else read this book? I'd love to hear your thoughts

“Taking risks doesn‘t mean throwing ourselves blindly into danger. But it means embracing our fears so that we aren‘t imprisoned by them”

“Maybe to heal isn‘t to erase the scar, or even to make the scar. To heal is to cherish the wound.”

Catching a few paragraphs on my 15 minute break! this book does NOT disappoint

Sometimes your dogs just want you to put the book down and play 😂😂😂

I told my principal I was considering getting my doctorate in psychology. But I couldn‘t speak my dream without a caveat. “I don‘t know,” I said,
“by the time I finish school I‘ll be fifty.” He smiled at me. “You‘re going to be fifty anyhow,” he said.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one‘s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one‘s own way. Each moment is a choice. No matter how frustrating or boring or constraining or painful
or oppressive our experience, we can always choose how we respond. And I finally begin
to understand that I, too, have a choice. This realization will change my life

Just remember, no one can take away from you what you‘ve put in your mind. We can‘t choose to vanish the dark, but we can choose to kindle the light.

“Maybe moving forward also meant circling back”