I just replenished inventory of books destined to be signed copies. Usually I sign copies after presentations or book at signings., but you can get your own signed copy directly from me.
The book is also available on Amazon.com, but those copies, shipped by Amazon, are not signed.
I remember that a fifty-four-year-old lady died during the trip across the ocean. Her bunk was maybe twenty feet from my bunk. She was buried at sea.
Her body was on a board and covered with an American flag. The ceremony was dignified. The captain read a few scriptures from an English Bible. I did not understand the words. The board was lifted at one end, and the body, which was wrapped tightly in white sheets, slid into the water. After the body slipped into the water, the ship sailed in a large circle around that location in honor of the deceased passenger.
When I think about this event as an adult, I tear up. She did not make it to the United States, the “Promised Land,” but she was given the honor of being covered by our flag.
Nine people who shared that voyage to the USA have contacted me. All remember the sad event. One was only four years old, two were five, and the rest of us were older. The picture shows the Captain and the ships officers walking to the burial ceremony.
For reviews of my memoir or to purchase a copy visit Amazon.com, or get your own signed copy of my book here.
Even after the war was over, danger would come in sudden and unexpected ways. The excerpt from my memoir is from the time Mom, my brother, and I were living communist East Germany after WWII.
“One of the places we lived was a multistory apartment building. Fellow tenants included a Russian army officer and his wife. Like almost all Russians, they had never seen running water and flush toilets. To them, a porcelain sink and a porcelain toilet looked the same except for the difference in height.
“Food was scarce for everyone, including the Russians. One day the officer purchased a small fish at a local market in Weimar. There was a little time till lunch, so his wife decided to keep it in one of the flush toilets the residents shared. Mom came to the communal bathroom with us and saw a dead fish floating in the toilet bowl. It never dawned on her that she was looking at someone’s lunch, so she flushed it. Shortly thereafter the officer came in to retrieve his fish and realized Mom had flushed it. He pulled out his pistol and put it to her head and demanded an explanation. My brother remembers those tense moments as Mom tried, in her broken Russian, to explain why she had flushed the fish.”
The book is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/31H6cSk A story of war, deprivation, courage, perseverance, and triumph.
A cozy setting for giving a book to the The Wagnalls Memorial Library!
We humbly thank Author Gerhard Maroscher for generously donating a copy of his memoir to The Wagnalls Memorial Library.
Why Can’t Somebody Just Die Around Here is the inspiring account of a Romanian family’s survival in the midst of WWII, the fallout thereafter, and their journey to seek the American dream.
Don’t miss it. Check it out today, or support the author by purchasing your own copy here: https://bit.ly/2QcFvlt
The Wagnalls Memorial
I recently had the opportunity to speak to members of a writers group at Wagnalls Memorial Library. The topic: How I made my family story into a memoir. Right after giving them a short bio, I mentioned a list of my qualifications as a writer. The first one was, “Almost didn’t graduate from high school because of Senior English.” Fifty-eight years later I’m still learning. Shop for my memoir at https://amzn.to/32CJfQs
Mom saved every letter Dad wrote her during their long separation during and after WWII. The letters give a powerful and intimate view of the deepest feelings of a young married couple whose life has been torn apart by war.
Here are a few short excerpts from two letters and a postcard written by Dad to Mom.
Excerpts from a Letter—May 14, 1946
My sweetie!
Wow! What a joy! I received three letters at once from you today. I got weak in the knees…
Excerpts from a Letter—May 22, 1946
I can endure everything, but worrying about you gives me many sad and bitter hours. Not to be able to help you . . . But God willing, this separation will also end. Just so you and our boys stay healthy… everything else we will be able to manage… my soul is screaming—why must this happiness bypass us? Is our cup still too full? Have we not drunk from it enough already, and always to the last bitter drop! As there is a God on this earth, this suffering must end and we be together again.
Excerpts from a Postcard—May 31, 1946
“Everything seems so gray, always alone! Well, you can imagine my diet, considering my culinary skills…
Excerpts from a Letter—June 23, 1946
…Tomorrow it will be seven years since we were married! And we live off the beautiful hours of being together; we live off the memory how much longer?…Oh, how many loving words I want to write to you, but on paper they are cold words. May God grant the time of our reunion, and then in my arms you can forget all this misery. And then I can take care of you and our boys.
Read more in the book – get your copy on this website or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/32CJfQs
The latest person to post a review on Amazon captures the essence of my story in very few words:
5 out of 5 stars — October 18, 2019
“The power of this book is in the unspoken meanings of each vignette. This is an extremely personal and intimate account told simply in short chapters. Gerhard Maroscher tells his family story honestly and openly, hiding nothing. The power of this book is not in his words, but in the deeper meaning and emotions that accompany each chapter. Simple events had potentially dire outcomes. We can learn so much individually, as a community, and as a country, from this little family of four.”
-Linda
Thanks to Gerhard Maroscher for donating the revised edition of his family’s story Why Can’t Somebody Just Die Around Here?
He recently worked with an editor and book designer to revise his book and publish a Second Edition in a 6in x 9in format.
Two or three months ago I entered my memoir in the IAN (Independent Author Network) Book of the Year Awards. I’m pleased with the good news I just received from IAN:
We are pleased to announce that your book, Why Can’t Somebody Just Die Around Here?, is a winner in the 2019 IAN Book of the Year Awards!
When judging completed, Why Can’t Somebody Just Die Around Here?, was selected as a finalist in one category: Memoir/Biography/Autobiography.
Independent Author Network
Our local Rotary clubs recently sponsored visiting Rotarians from Romania. They stayed with separate host families while in the Circleville area. I was fortunate enough to chauffeur them to local attractions for two days.
They are delightful people and great ambassadors for their country. One of the visitors, the group leader, saw my memoir at her host’s house and began reading. She learned that I was born in Romania. The next day she told me she intended to purchase a copy upon her return home. At yesterday’s farewell dinner, hosted by Rhoads Garden Center, I presented the visitors with signed copies of my memoir.
Upon their return, the group leader will inform me if the book can be purchased in Romania from Amazon. Hmm. Maybe other Romanians will be interested in reading the book?