"Do you know why I write so much? Because as long as you read, we are together." -- Raizel Garncarz (Sala's sister), April 24, 1941 Few family secrets have the power both to transform lives and to fill in crucial gaps in world history. But then, few families have a mother and a daughter quite like Sala and Ann Kirschner. For nearly fifty years, Sala kept a secret: She had survived five years as a slave in seven different Nazi work camps. Living in America after the war, she kept from her children any hint of her epic, inhuman odyssey. She held on to more than 350 letters, photographs, and a diary without ever mentioning them. Only in 1991, on the eve of heart surgery, did she suddenly present them to Ann and offer to answer any questions her daughter wished to ask. It was a life-changing moment for her scholar, writer, and entrepreneur daughter. We know surprisingly little about the vast network of Nazi labor camps, where imprisoned Jews built railroads and highways, churned out munitions and materiel, and otherwise supported the limitless needs of the Nazi war machine. This book gives us an insider's account: Conditions were brutal. Death rates were high. As the war dragged on and the Nazis retreated, inmates were force-marched across hundreds of miles, or packed into cattle cars for grim journeys from one camp to another. When Sala first reported to a camp in Geppersdorf, Poland, at the age of sixteen, she thought it would be for six weeks. Five years later, she was still at a labor camp and only she and two of her sisters remained alive of an extended family of fifty. In the first years of the conflict, Sala was aided by her close friend Ala Gertner, who would later lead an uprising at Auschwitz and be executed just weeks before the liberation of that camp. Sala was also helped by other key friends. Yet above all, she survived thanks to the slender threads of support expressed in the letters of her friends and family. She kept them at great personal risk, and it is astonishing that she was able to receive as many as she did. With their heartwrenching expressions of longing, love, and hope, they offer a testament to the human spirit, an indomitable impulse even in the face of monstrosity. Sala's Gift is a rare book, a gift from Ann to her mother, and a great gift from both women to the world.

THE STORY: Adapted from the book Sala's Gift by Ann Kirschner and based on a true account, LETTERS TO SALA is a remarkable story of a young girl's survival during wartime Germany. Five years. Seven Nazi labor camps. Over 350 hidden letters. Sala Garncarz

The Golden Warrior and the bravest man I ever knew. When Dave and I fought together, no matter how severe the action, he would put his hand on my shoulder, and it gave me a calming effect. He was as fi erce in battle as he was gentle in friendship. Charles E. Eckman, 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles Holtwood, Pennsylvania I remember David as a kind, soft-spoken man and was intrigued that he was also Colonel Michaelis radio operator. All of these men were larger than life! Little is known about Michealis because he was in command of the 502nd for such a short, yet important, time. Peter J. K. Hendrikx, author of Orange is the Color of the Day Pictorial history of the 101st Airborne Liberation of Holland www.heroesatmargraten.com Madame Rolle, owner of Chateau Rollea castle located in Champs outside of Bastogne, Belgium, and was designated as the headquarter command post for the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment when she was a young girlremembered our father operating his radio in her foyer, and said, He was a nice young fellow who kept talking to someone named Roger. Madame Rolle This collection of letters, written by a young 101st Airborne paratrooper soldier to his sweetheart from 1943-1945, is so personal and matter-offact that I almost forgot that David Clinton Tharp was only one of millions of heroes made by World War II. David Tharp certainly deserves a book like this in his honor, and it deserves to be read and praised. It is a mustread for every American, and especially for veterans of war. Palmetto Review

Winner, 2019 James Beard Award for Best Book of the Year in Vegetable-Focused Cooking “Elevates salads from the quotidian to the thrilling.” —The New York Times A “saladish” recipe is like a salad, and yet so much more. It starts with an unexpectedly wide range of ingredients, such as Japanese eggplants, broccoli rabe, shirataki noodles, Bosc pears, and chrysanthemum leaves. It emphasizes contrasting textures—toothsome, fluffy, crunchy, crispy, hefty. And marries contrasting flavors—rich, sharp, sweet, and salty. Toss all together and voilà: an irresistible symphony that’s at once healthy and utterly delicious. Cooking the saladish way has been Ilene Rosen’s genius since she unveiled the first kale salad at New York’s City Bakery almost two decades ago, and now she shares 100 fresh and creative recipes, organized seasonally, from the intoxicatingly aromatic (Toasty Broccoli with Curry Leaves and Coconut) to the colorfully hearty (Red Potatoes with Chorizo and Roasted Grapes). Each chapter includes a fun party menu, a timeline of preparation, and an illustrated tablescape to turn a saladish meal into an impressive dinner party spread.

A Native American love story featuring touches of mysticism and suspense from New York Times–bestselling author Sharon Sala writing under a pseudonym. Morgan Tallchief lives for the art he creates, but even that is haunted by the loss of the only woman he will ever love. When Kathleen Ryder mysteriously re-enters his life, the achingly sweet hunger that bound them together in the past returns as well. “Dinah McCall has waved her magic wand again . . . a spellbinding story of love that leaves the reader yearning for more.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times–bestselling author “A brave, resilient heroine and a mesmerizing, larger-than-life hero who protects his own at all costs create a compelling, intensely emotional story of enduring love. Unexpected flashes of humor, a warm depiction of contemporary Native American culture, and intelligent writing add to its allure.” —Library Journal

Lady at the O.K. Corral: The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp by Ann Kirschner is the definitive biography of a Jewish girl from New York who won the heart of Wyatt Earp. For nearly fifty years, she was the common-law wife of Wyatt Earp: hero of the O.K. Corral and the most famous lawman of the Old West. Yet Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp has nearly been erased from Western lore. In this fascinating biography, Ann Kirschner, author of the acclaimed Sala's Gift, brings Josephine out of the shadows of history to tell her tale: a spirited and colorful tale of ambition, adventure, self-invention, and devotion. Reflective of America itself, her story brings us from the post–Civil War years to World War II, and from New York to the Arizona Territory to old Hollywood. In Lady at the O.K. Corral, you’ll learn how this aspiring actress and dancer—a flamboyant, curvaceous Jewish girl with a persistent New York accent—landed in Tombstone, Arizona, and sustained a lifelong partnership with Wyatt Earp, a man of uncommon charisma and complex heroism.

An expansive collection of love letters to books, libraries, and reading, from a wonderfully eclectic array of thinkers and creators.