We are partnering with Sandwich For All to bring you a very special evening with author Irene Stern Frielich, as she discusses her book Shattered Stars, Healing Hearts: Unraveling My Father's Holocaust Survival Story.  Registration is required.

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION: Irene Stern Frielich will speak with us about her book, Shattered Stars, Healing Hearts. Thoughtfully researched and poignantly written, this searing, heartfelt memoir tells the story of a Jewish woman embarking on an international journey to retrace her late father’s escape from Nazi Germany.  Like the layers of earth that accumulate from generation to generation, the layers of a family’s story, constantly impacted by the effects of erosion and destruction, build, break down, and build up again. Eventually all the layers intermingle. Shattered Stars, Healing Hearts is a love letter to generations lost, a testament to the importance of memory, and a powerful reminder that we can always find our way home in the most unexpected places. Beautifully weaving past and present, she grapples with loss, intergenerational trauma, and hope for a more just future.  Frielich is deeply grateful to the eighteen courageous individuals who helped her family survive the Holocaust, some of whom she will tell us about in this presentation. The author will have artifacts on display during the event and will sign copies of her book. Copies of the books will be available for sale during the event. Cash, checks, and Venmo ONLY - no credit card sales available.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Irene Stern Frielich is the daughter of a German Holocaust survivor. But that wasn’t talked about too much in her family home. She set aside the unspoken emotions that permeated her childhood and focused on her education, career, and family. Frielich speaks internationally about her family’s story, and has written pieces about her experiences uncovering her father’s story, some of which are published in U.S., German, and Dutch media. Frielich’s memoir, Shattered Stars, Healing Hearts, came out in October 2023 and has earned the #1 New Release in Jewish Biography and #1 New Release in Holocaust Biography spots on Amazon.  www.shatteredstars.org

In 2017, Irene re-discovered the testimony video her father had made just before his death in 1994. She immersed herself in her father’s world of survival, loss, and hope. Irene visited Europe three times, where she retraced her family’s escape route on Kristallnacht from Nazi Germany to temporary safety in the Netherlands. She visited the attic where her father lived in hiding for two-and-a-half years. The journey transformed her.

Frielich is the owner of an award-winning instructional design consulting firm in Massachusetts. She has had numerous professional articles published in trade magazines.