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Even in Darkness

Spanning a century and three continents, Even in Darkness tells the story of Klare Kohler, whose origins in a prosperous German-Jewish family hardly anticipate the end of her long life in a loving relationship with Ansel, a German priest half her age. In between lies a harrowing saga of families, a lover, two world wars, and the Holocaust. Based on a true story, Even in Darkness highlights the intimate experience of Klare’s reinvention as she faces the destruction of life as she knew it, and traces her path not only to survival, but to wisdom, meaning and most unexpectedly, love. It reminds us that it’s never too late or too hard to find ourselves anew.   

 

Readers who look for depth of historical detail woven into narrative will find that this meticulously researched novel combines a fascinating view of Germany in the first half of the twentieth century, with a vivid portrait of the characters’ inner lives as they navigate the shocking realities they must face. Even in Darkness is based on 15 years of interviews, on-site investigation, and translation of letters from the people on whom the primary characters are based, in Europe, Israel and the United States. 

Endorsement...

Barbara Stark-Nemon's Even In Darkness makes personal the German Jewish experience of the twentieth century. From the comforts of prewar Germany through the turbulent years of the First World War, the Weimar republic and the Third Reich, from living in fear to brute survival in the camps to the rebuilding under American occupation and the new West German regime, Even In Darkness is also a the story of a real person. Following Klare's story makes the history our own.  Stark-Nemon offers an important corrective to more standard Jewish narratives, painting a picture of complex German Jews who navigated their way through prejudice and privilege and struggled to find a place for themselves in the various Germanys of the last century.  Crossing religious and geographic boundaries, this is a story about family, commitment, loss and love, sacrifice and survival. Ultimately, we learn how humanity triumphs Even In Darkness

 

David J Fine, PhD, author of Jewish Integration in the German Army in the First World War 

Hard Cider

The messy truth of a certain age; it’s hard to re-invent yourself. Navigating the shoals of her complicated family, Abbie Rose Stone tries to nurture a life and a business along the lake and dunes of northern Michigan that she loves. Can she preserve the fragile balance when a lovely young woman threatens to expose a long-held secret that will change Abbie’s life forever?

Endorsement

"In this absorbing and thoughtful novel, the alchemy of turning apples into hard cider becomes a potent metaphor for the way in which time blends and distills the characters into a family. With grace and compassion, Stark-Nemon examines the forging of relationships under the pressure of shocking revelations. A deep valuing of connection to land, work, and loved ones emerges from this beautifully written story.  Jessica Levine, author of the novels The Geometry of Love,and Nothing Forgotten

Read an excerpt about Hard Cider making here .............

And more...

HELPING FAMILIES TELL THEIR STORIES

The year is 1993. And Werner, the savvy businessman and ace tennis player opens a peek hole into his secret activities as an agent of the Counter Intelligence Corps at the end and in the aftermath of WWII.  

 

Every family has a story......Do you have a box of letters? A trove of pictures? A piece of family history you want to pass on?  Contact Barbara for professional assistance in bringing your story to the page.  

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