Want to know what books Hon Patrick J Murphy recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Hon Patrick J Murphy's favorite book recommendations of all time.
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A memoir of the haunting legacy of the trauma of the Holocaust and the meaning of familial identity by a man who must figure out who he is in the wake of a life-changing revelation about his own lineage
Adam Frankel’s Bubbie and Zayde, his mother’s parents, were Holocaust survivors—a fact he’s lived with his entire life. But they were more than that, too. Zayde was a watchmaker named Abraham Perecman, infamous in New Haven for his rigor and integrity. He was also, at one point, Gershon Gubersky—a Jew from a small village in eastern Europe. Bubbie was his constant... more A memoir of the haunting legacy of the trauma of the Holocaust and the meaning of familial identity by a man who must figure out who he is in the wake of a life-changing revelation about his own lineage
Adam Frankel’s Bubbie and Zayde, his mother’s parents, were Holocaust survivors—a fact he’s lived with his entire life. But they were more than that, too. Zayde was a watchmaker named Abraham Perecman, infamous in New Haven for his rigor and integrity. He was also, at one point, Gershon Gubersky—a Jew from a small village in eastern Europe. Bubbie was his constant companion, the only other person in his life to know what it was like to be hunted by German soldiers. Together they made a new life, with new names, in America. And tried to leave the painful memories behind.
Try as his grandparents did to keep their past from intruding upon their new American life, a story so powerful crosses generational lines—a fact most apparent in the mental health of Adam’s mother. And when Adam sits down with her to examine their family history up close, he discovers something about himself that he can’t run from, another inherited family secret: his dad is not his biological father. He is only half who he thought he was. And so, in telling the story of familial trauma, Adam shored up a whole new identity for himself, one he needed to confront if he wanted to understand how to build a legacy for his own young family.
By turns speaking and not-speaking with his mother, Adam discovers that the traumas that are handed down to us can take different forms, but while the nature of our families’ traumas may vary, each of us has, in a sense, the same choice to make. We can turn away from what we’ve inherited—or, we can confront it, in the hopes of conquering that trauma—or at least, moving on. The Survivors is Adam’s attempt at just that. And when the insidiousness of toxic family secrets comes to bear on his life at present, he must ask: Who is he, if not his father’s son? If not part of a rich legacy of writers? Does it matter? What will he pass to his own children? The stories here are about unwinding how that happens, and how we might use our past to inform our present and future generations without inflicting the same pain upon them. less 
Jon FavreauAdam is the first speechwriter I ever hired on the Obama campaign. He’s a brilliant storyteller with a big heart and you should all go read his book. https://t.co/HGHksnk9wW (Source)
Hon Patrick J MurphyBought 5 of these books to give out because Adam is That Good a writer and this book moves you. Great gift! https://t.co/raNULPR7M6 (Source)
Christina ReynoldsI've always known @apfrankel was a great writer, but this book surpassed all expectations. Quite a story, fantastically told. https://t.co/Bp5iSnNxdn (Source)
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