“Surviving the Survivors" is a compelling memoir, written from the unique perspective of a daughter of
Holocaust Survivors. Not just survival from the atrocities brought about by Nazi Germany, but also
about survival in a new country with parents unable to recover from their traumas. Klein sheds light on
the ‘survivor baby boom’ and the oppressive burden of having been ordained to be a substitute for
family members who were lost in the Holocaust. Interspersed throughout the memoir are a fantastic
collection of black-and-white photographs that give depth and additional meaning to each of the
stories.”

—Paul Strug, JD, American Associates of Ben Gurion University, Zin Fellow,
Cohort I

"This important memoir brings light to the kin of Holocaust survivors. Raised with severe coping challenges, Ruth Klein endured her parents’ fractured state despite horrific abuse and meager signs of love and affection. Her vivid description of her turbulent first decades is replete with empathy, clarity, and even humor as she takes us deep within her struggle for her own identity and her attempts at freedom from her parents’ ghosts. Stripped of all but their values and ethics, their only gift was the support of Ruth's musical talent, which singlehandedly saved and sustained her throughout the adversity of her youth and into adulthood. Her courage to persist and triumph is honorable and exemplary."
 
—Dennis Parker, Endowed Professor of Music, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

“From its gripping beginning to its touching conclusion, Ruth Klein’s memoir offers an unusual personal perspective on the long-term impact of the Holocaust on her family but also on dispersed communities of fellow survivors, from displaced persons camps in post-war Germany to a neighborhood in transition in mid-century Los Angeles to a home in modern-day Tel-Aviv. Her family’s is a story of dreadful losses and pain leading to a kind of reconciliation through Klein’s gathering and keeping of memories, including those preserved in the fascinating photographs scattered throughout her account.”

—Candace Clements, Art Historian, Independent Scholar, author of several articles on eighteenth-century French art and the twentieth-century artist Francis Picabia"

"Told in a clear and readable manner, this memoir is a chronicle of success and persistence in the face
of great adversity. Surviving the traumas inflicted by parents who were irreparably damaged by the
Holocaust cannot have been easy. Klein is very brave to have made her story public, and she is to be
commended for her research to fill in the history of the times and the history of her family.”

—Margaret L. Kripke, Professor Emerita, and Former Executive Vice
President, U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

"In her debut memoir, "Surviving the Survivors", author Ruth Klein, with both tenderness and candor delves deeply into her family’s dark and horrifying past as victims of the Holocaust. Though some miraculously survive, despite the unimaginable, like Klein, each must bear witness to the many who do not."

—Sande Boritz Berger──author of "The Sweetness"

"In her engrossing memoir, “Surviving the Survivors,” Ruth Klein paints an accurate yet heartwrenching
picture of what it is like to grow up with parents who were irreparably damaged by the
Holocaust. While every second-generation (2G) Holocaust survivor’s story is unique, there are threads
of similarity that will leave other 2Gs, me included, nodding their heads in solidarity with Klein’s
experiences and behaviors. And her unfailingly positive outlook and drive to succeed will leave you
cheering for Klein to the final word of her book."

—Emily Wanderer Cohen, Member of the Jewish Book
Council, Author, "From Generation to
Generation: Healing Intergenerational
Trauma Through Storytelling"

“I found this book very compelling; I read the entire book in one sitting—just could not put it down. It
resonates with the history, feelings, and struggles of Holocaust survivors and the second generation.
The highlight for me was the last chapter and its new character, ending this memoir as an affirmation
of life.”

—Joyce Levine, Secretary, American Gatherings of Adult Children of the Holocaust
Survivors, Former Secretary, National Survivors of the Holocaust, and President,
Manhattan Chapter of Women Holocaust Survivors, also 2G

“An engrossing, compelling story—it is profound, harrowing and intensely moving. This story needs to
be told, it needs to be read and needs to be understood. As a reader, I’m grateful to you for having
written it. You have my absolute respect.”

—Grant Arthur Gochin, author of "Malice, Murder,
and Manipulation"

“A riveting portrayal of a remarkable survivor who, despite all odds, pulled her life together and
overcame immense challenges from her childhood. Starting with the emotional trauma of a Holocaust
shattered parents, assuming a great deal of responsibility when her younger twin siblings were born,
and sacrificing to keep her family intact. As an accomplished and ardent pianist, her passion remains
her greatest outlet and strength in dealing with many adversities in her life and effecting true inner
peace to her soul. "Surviving the Survivors" is an exceptionally touching memoir.”

—Kamal Manoly, Senior Level Technical Advisor for Structural Mechanics, Division of
Engineering, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission