Shmuel’s Bridge pairs its dedication with a Yiddish proverb: Dem emess meg men zogen af dem eigenen taten. In English, “One may tell the truth about one’s own father.”
It’s a truth that St. Louis poet Jason Sommer has taken to heart in his new work of nonfiction, out March 15 from Imagine. In it, the author recalls a trip he and his father, Jay, took to Eastern Europe in 2001.
Jay is now 98 years old and losing his memories, which include life in Hungary and fleeing war-torn Europe more than 70 years ago. Jason and Jay’s 2001 trip tracked Jay’s history via the railways, from Jay’s birth in Hungary to the Budapest labor camp he escaped during the Holocaust, to Auschwitz, where many of his family members were killed. Another stop along the way is the titular bridge, where Jay and Jason commemorated the death of Jay’s brother Shmuel, who was killed by Nazi guards while attempting to escape a transport to Auschwitz.
The Pulitzer Prize—nominated author of Conscience and Courage Eva Fogelman called Shmuel’s Bridge a “gripping, suspenseful, and honest” memoir. All ring true as Jason unpacks his family’s experiences and memories. As he does, so too does he unpack his own experiences retelling these tales, as well as the responsibility to commit them to memory, interpret them, and ensure their survival. In doing so, Sommer has produced a beautiful, compassionate volume that preserves not only his father’s wartime memories but also the relationship between father and son.
Sommer will discuss the new book on March 24 at 7 p.m. at Central Reform Congregation, during an event in partnership with Left Bank Books.
