Kurt Lichter, a disaffected German art student is at a crossroads. Not only is he jobless and at odds with his parents, his childhood sweetheart, Karin, is leaving Berlin to study filmmaking in New York. To join her, he enlists in a German peace organization that sends volunteers all over the world to atone for the sins of the Nazis. Although he doesn't feel any responsibility for the Holocaust, it's his only chance to be with his love. In New York, Kurt is assigned to help a feisty Auschwitz survivor, Sadie Seidenberg, who has fractured her arm and leg fighting off a mugger. Sadie senses he has no interest in Germany's past horrors, and his very presence unlocks the floodgates of terrifying memories she has kept hidden inside. Kurt's new home becomes hell as Sadie threatens to have him sent back to Berlin and Karin dumps him.
When an act of vandalism desecrates Sadie's neighborhood synagogue, Kurt and Sadie are recruited to help with the restoration. As they work together to repair a once beautiful mural, their animosity begins to crumble and they are able to share their anxiety about the enormous task ahead of them. Hostility is replaced by affection and respect, providing a clarion note of optimism. Life gets further complicated after Kurt begins a secret romance with Sadie's granddaughter, Rebecca. When her father, a powerful attorney, discovers their budding relationship, he tries to use his influence to get Kurt deported.
Drawing from Memory is a heartfelt exploration of love, personal responsibility, reconciliation and the role of art in the process of healing.
Advance Praise for Ronnie Berman's Drawing from Memory
"Told with sensitivity and intelligence, Drawing from Memory is an important story of a holocaust survivor connecting with the grandson of a Nazi. Unexpected and fresh, debut novelist Ronnie Berman skillfully reveals that art and empathy can build bridges over chasms." - Diana Wagman, award-winning author of Life #6
"At a time when so many love stories are thin and work only on one level, Drawing from Memory dares to take risks, pitting the horrors of the holocaust against the healing power of art with heart and humor. It's a delicate maneuver that author Berman pulls off masterfully." - Eduardo Santiago, award-winning author of Tomorrow They Will Kiss
"The author chronicles Kurt and Sadie's evolving relationship with great emotional intelligence, the culmination of which is their collaboration on a synagogue mural after its defacement by anti-Semites. Berman's story is an ambitious one, brimming with political significance and symbolism. The author bravely tackles a morally fraught and complex issue-national guilt and the path to a people's redemption...An impressively creative, dramatic tale..." - Kirkus Reviews
