To Life

Rating:
Summary: We must learn from the past to have a future
Review: AS LONG AS THERE IS LIFE THERE IS HOPE. Mama's legacy. It helped me hold on to life, surrounded by degradation, horror and death. It helped me hold on to hope, when all was hopeless. It helped me rise from the ahes of the Holocaust to build a new life. It kept me from giving up. We do not know how much strength we have until we are put to the test. I am pleased that THE CAGE, TO LIFE and THE HOLOCAUST LADY, touched your hearts. We must learn from the past to have a future.

Rating:
Summary: How Do I Title This Review?
Review: Some of you are probably wondering why I wrote this review and how I had the nerve to criticize a book in which a Holocaust survivor told their story. So first I must say that I am NOT belittling the horrors that Ruth Minsky Sender went through or minimizing her astounding bravery as she faced them, I am critquing the way this book was presented.

Picking up right were "The Cage" left off, "To Life" chronicles Riva's (Ruth's) life immediately following her liberation from a concentration camp. Horrors still plague Riva, and she finds that the heartache of discovering the deaths of her family member and friends and attempting to rebuild her life is in some ways as horrible as the Holocaust itself. But Riva carries bravely on, marrying fellow survivor Moniek, having children, and wondering what her future holds.

The values of hope, courage, bravery, optimism, selflessness, and love shown throughout "To Life" are totally precious and the finest aspect of this novel. While portraying the intense grief she endured following WW2, Sender also portrays her (and her family's) determination to focus on their new life and make the best of their situation. Although many of the book's settings and happenings are depressing, Sender refuses to make "To Life" a book without some happiness and much hope for the future. For its portrayal of many excellent ideals, "To Life" is to be commended.

So, as I have said before, I am not attacking the author when I discuss the less-than-perfect aspects of this book. Really, I think the "book" would have been excellent were it simply shortened somewhat and made into a final "section" of "The Cage." Many of the happenings in "To Life" were repetitive, and the happenings in the author's life shared through this book would have been even more moving and gripping if they were shortened somewhat; it would have heightened their impact.

Hopefully no one takes offense from this review. The events in this book deserve to be shared and heard, and I believe that it is important to relieve what Jews suffered AFTER the Holocaust, I just believe the author's story could have been told in a different and better format.

Rating:
Summary: The most inspiring book that I have ever read!
Review: This book, about a girl named Riva who survived the holocaust and rebuilt her life, was an amazing memoir by Ruth Minsky Sender. It showed how hard the holocaust was. I was so impressed with how well written this book is. Ruth Minsky Sender's story really inspires me. This was an excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: A moving novel that keeps you reading!
Review: This is a really good book.The Cage, the book that came befor this book, was really good but this one is better. It tells of what happened after Riva's concentration camp is liberated. It tells of the hardships that Riva has trying to find family...This is a great novel and its a good book to read if you loved The Cage.

Rating:
Summary: a must read if you've read The Cage
Review: To Life is the story of what happened to Riva when the concentration camp she spent years in was finally liberated.

Honestly, The Cage was infinetely more interesting to me than this book was, but The Cage is without a doubt the best book I've ever read. To Life is not uninteresting by any means, however.

The struggles Riva must go through are heart-wrenching. It really makes a person appreciate the life they have. When something good finally happens for Riva, the reader feels happy for her because she's been through so much. If you're going to read this book, you've just got to read The Cage first.