What's on My Kindle? Non-Fiction

Welcome to this week's What's On My Kindle?  Where I share with you some of the things I've picked up through Amazon and have read or intend to read in the probably not too distant future.  This week, I've chosen to share with you some of the nonfiction and biographical works that I have currently on my kindle.

These, I've actually read, and recommend having tissues with some of them.  Some of them are not nice stories, but then again how many of our lives are all nice.  Anyway, without further adieu, here is the list of some of the most recently read works of non-fiction on my Kindle.

Non-Fiction/Biographical Works

1.) A Child el Confino - Eric Lamet

This book, is the true story of a young Jewish boy and his mother in Mussolini's Italy.  There are high points, low points, and ultimately points that made me cry during the course of this story.  This is by far one of my favorite time periods to read about, the stories of survivors, even the stories of those that did not survive, but have been told through those that did are some of the most heartbreaking, and yet the most inspirational.

This is the story of Eric Lamet and his mother, whose lives are forever changed at the rise of Hitler and his desire to rid the world of the Jewish population and anyone non-Aryan.  They go from living in Vienna, Italy to living further and further into the mountains to avoid the fate of so many other of Europe's Jewish population.

I highly recommend this story to continue to learn other perspectives of those who survived this nightmare. 

2.) Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account - Miklos Nyiszli

This story takes place in Auschwitz...the camp where so very, very many Jews died during the Holocaust.  This story begins in 1944 when Hitler's army invaded Hungary, and the entire Hungarian Jewish population was sent to Auschwitz.

A Jew and a doctor, Miklos Nyiszli was spared from death, in exchange for a much, much grimmer fate.  He was expected to perform "scientific experiments" on his fellow inmates under the man who ultimately became known as the "Angel of Death" - Dr. Josef Mengele.

He was Mengele's personal pathologist, and doctor to the Sonderkommando, the prisoners in charge of the creamtoriums and executed every four months.  Somehow, Nyiszli survived to give this sobering, horrific account of his time in Auschwitz.

3.) The Life and Prayers of Saint Patrick - Wyatt North

This is one of two books I have on my Kindle by Mr. North.  I actually like his writing style, and the fact that he's provided information about two of the people that are most inspirational to me: Saint Patrick and Mother Theresa.  I will not be featuring his Mother Theresa book on this list, but I do have it! 

Anyway, this particular book is part biography and part prayer book.  There are many of his own original writings, and we learn that Ireland, for Patrick was bittersweet.  Also, the original color for Saint Patrick's feast day, was blue not green.

Ireland, though a bittersweet location for Patrick, was also the home of his spiritual awakening - which is more than likely what spurred him into making the conversion of the country his mission.

I highly suggest this read, learning of the life and prayers of this Saint will definitely provide you with some inspiration. 

I do have a few others in this category, including a book about a boy with Autism who had a very big love for Snow White, 3500: An Autistic Boy's Ten-Year Romance with Snow White.  This was a wonderful read.  I also have Roasting in Hell's Kitchen Gordon Ramsay's book, as well as Mother Theresa: A Life Inspired by Wyatt North. 

#TBT: The Ultimate Survivors

This week's #TBT is one that is near and dear to my heart.  One of my favorite periods in history to study is the Holocaust during World War II.  People have called me morbid because of it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a truly fascinating time period to study.  It shocks and saddens me that so many people, so many nations turned blind eyes to what was really happening in Germany and the surrounding countries. 

The stories written by survivors, the tales of the nightmares that they have endured, and will continue to endure until their last breath takes them to a place of no suffering are the ones that tend to stick with me, more than any fantasy story written. 

These are some of the books that have impacted me the most, and further encouraged me to read the stories of survivors, visit the memorials, the museums that are set up to remember, remind and honor those who were among the millions that lost their lives in the face of hatred. 

I read this in high school. I own a copy, I will always own a copy of this book.  This book more often than not brings me to tears every time that I read it.  I do not blame him his hatred for God as he comes face to face with evil at its most vile, and his reminder that this horror should never be forgotten and never be allowed to repeat. 

Who has not read this tale?  If her story does not bring you to tears, then there is something seriously wrong with you.  A young girl, one of many, who were forcefully separated from her family after they managed to hide for so long.  Eventually, I want to go to the house where she was hidden, walk the paths that she took within that house and see how she lived, fearing that the next moment could be her last moment of freedom.  

When I was attending Flagler College, I had the honor and the privilege of meeting a Holocaust survivor.  There is not a lot of his lecture that stayed with me, however the fact that he survived.  He survived that horror is enough for me to know that the man I met was meant to survive that atrocity and share his story with the world.  I wish I could even recall his name, it saddens me that I cannot even do that.