Sala - More Than a Survivor

by Marsha Casper Cook, Sala Lewis

This is the touching and inspirational story of Sala Lewis, who at age ten was left alone to wander the streets of Poland after her family was taken away by the Nazis. Sala had been out with her friends and came home to find her family gone and the apartment where she lived sealed off. Everything she possessed was no longer hers. She had no family, no clothes, no food, and at that moment in time, no future. Sala was strong willed. It was easy to see that, even though she was young, Sala would not get lost in the world. She wouldn t give up and she wouldn t allow herself to be afraid. Her uncompromising determination led her to find the camp where her sister, Dora, was being kept. Once the sisters were together, nothing could stop them. Their love and commitment to each other continued to be beyond reproach throughout their time together. They believed in the American dream and the land of opportunity. The proudest day of their lives was when they became United States citizens. They were more than survivors now, they were Americans!

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

About the author

Marsha Casper Cook is not only an award-winning author and screenwriter she is also the host and producer of all of the Michigan Avenue Media Podcasts on Blog Talk Radio. Her most recent accomplishment is her contribution to the worldwide magazine eYs. Marsha has written over fifteen books and twelve screenplays, including romance, dramas, and children’s books. Her latest series is, The Warrington Legacy, where she writes about the trials and tribulations of a family using her own sense of love and family commitment as her guide. To her, family matters, and that is reflected in every book she writes.


All of my books are on Audible. If you like to have fun check out the podcast and if you're interested in being a guest on one of the shows please let us know

Reviews

[Kristin]

While in the gift shop of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, I met Sala Lewis. She is as beautiful in person, perhaps even more so, as she is on the cover of her memoir.

Her memoir tells of her survival on the streets of Poland, and her subsequent capture and imprisonment in Bergen-Belsen. But, the bulk of the story is her arrival in the United States and her life once she was in the country.

It is very apparent that Sala wants it known that she triumphed over Nazis and became a successful model, mother and wife. When I read Holocaust survival stories I want to learn more about how people survived the atrocities during that time period. Mrs. Lewis's story was more about how she survived once she emigrated.

[Dellani Oakes]

Sala Lewis is a well known model and singer, she's also a survivor of Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Sala was a young girl when Jewish people started to disappear. Several members of her family were taken before she was, then one day while she was out playing with friends, her parents and brothers were taken. By the blessing of God and her own spunk, she was fortunate enough to be reunited with her sister, Dora, in one of the camps.

Some would argue that it was good luck, others that it was God's blessings, but she and her sister Dora as well as their brothers, survived and were able eventually to move to Canada and America where she made a name for herself.

Her story is told in the wonderful biography, "Sala, More than a Survivor" written by Marsha Casper Cook, as told by Sala Lewis.

We follow Sala from the time she is a child until her adulthood as a wife and mother. Through it all, her indomitable spirit kept her going. The love and support of her older sister, Dora, certainly saw her through hard times.

One can only imagine how horrible the camps were in Nazi Germany. Sala clearly tells how hard life was for them, but somehow, they lived. Sala now lectures, telling others about the horrors of Nazi Germany, emphasizing how loving one another is the key to preventing such a thing from happening again.

"Sala, More Than a Survivor" is a beautiful, candid look at one woman's life and what she made of it after the Holocaust. She had dreams of becoming famous and she lived to fulfill that dream.

My favorite part of the book, which brought tears to my eyes, was at the end. She was asked to speak at her son's school, telling the children about living in Bergen Belsen. Her son had never heard the story before as she had tried to protect her children from the horrible truth.

"Days later when Cort, Evelyn, Jerry and I were at a neighborhood restaurant and standing in line I saw a young boy from Cort's class tugging at his mother's sleeve. I had no idea why, until he came up to me with his mother right by his side. "Mother," he said. "I want you to meet Mrs. Lewis. She's not just Cort's mother, she's special. She's a survivor!"

Sala Lewis is not the only survivor of a concentration camp, but her beautifully told story certainly makes the reader stop and think. Marsha Casper Cook found Sala's voice and transcribed it to the page with great respect and skill.

I highly recommend this book to any reader. It brings a slice of world history alive. Net proceeds from this book will be donated to the Holocaust Museums in Washington, D.C. And Skokie, Illinois.