by Gigi Michaels (Author)
In the face of extraordinary circumstances and in the most unlikely of places, one love story began and a family's devotion for each other persevered. Against the backdrop of the Holocaust, author Gigi Michaels uses the real-life story of her parents love and their fight to keep their family together in her new novel, "No Place Called Home" Michaels introduces the reader to Ernst Hess, who is forced by the Nazis in the late 1930s to leave his home and his family in their Jewish ghetto community on the Austrian-Hungarian border. Hess finally obtains safe passage to China, and during his six-week ocean voyage, he meets and falls in love with the affluent and cultured Margaret. She had also been forced to leave her home in Vienna and is headed to join her family in Shanghai. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Ernst and Margaret marry and have a child while living in the poorest section of Shanghai, amidst a community of immigrants called "stateless refugees." Although their living conditions were horrendous in the Japanese-occupied city, their love blossomed. "I want to share my parents' unusual story and their struggle for survival," says Michaels. "They had a peaceful, comfortable and secure life before the war and would never have suspected that their lives could change overnight. Yet because of the Holocaust, they met, fell in love and survived." This creative nofiction work is written for fans of history, romance and family connections, "No Place Called Home" has a lot of the same historical context as "The Diary of Anne Frank" and will also appeal to fans of "Sarah's Key"" "Once we were brothers" and "Garden of the Beasts". Perhaps more important than that, Michaels says she hopes her book will shed new light on the role of China's open-door policy during World War II, as well as keep alive the lessons learned from one of the biggest tragedies of our times. "Today, there are some who claim that the Holocaust never occurred; they want to erase it from the history books," says Michaels. "This book reminds us that we must learn from the past and say never again." From young adults to seniors, readers of all ages can enjoy this moving story of love, courage and determination during history's bleakest hour.
Author Biography
Whether first as a teacher or later as a counselor, Gigi Michaels has had a role in the education and development of countless young people since she earned one master's degree in education and another in school counseling. She has always considered herself a survivor of the Holocaust and has been invited to speak in several synagogues on Yom Hashoa at their Holocaust memorial services. She is married to her husband, Lee, and has two children.