First published 2022
Joanna Rubin Dranger embarks on a deeply personal investigation into her Jewish family's hidden past. Through old photographs pulled from forgotten boxes, she pieces together the vibrant lives her relatives lived before World War II. Her research takes her from Poland to Sweden to Israel, following the paths of family members who built new communities and found love and work, unaware of the violence approaching. Dranger combines illustrations, photography, and found objects to tell this story that spans continents and decades. She uncovers not only her family's immigration journey but also the broader historical context of Jewish persecution across Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. The memoir reveals the antisemitic policies of Sweden, Dranger's own home country, challenging its reputation for neutrality. This Nordic Council Literature Prize winner offers readers an intimate window into how one woman reclaimed her family's silenced history and confronted the grief of their loss.
Genres: history, 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, graphic-novels-comics, jewish
Vibes: intimate, investigative, poignant, reflective, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, generational-trauma, historical-investigation
Setting: Poland, Sweden, Israel, Germany, Lithuania, Russia
Period: Pre-World War II, World War II era, 20th century
432 pages · Hardcover · Ten Speed Graphic
Content warnings: death, violence, war