Never Forget My Soul

Drawing on years of experience working with survivors of trauma and their children, psychologist Michael Milgraum takes the reader on a riveting journey from trauma, loss and despair to hope, healing and renewed faith. "Never Forget My Soul" provides an honest and uncompromising look at the potential for evil that resides within man and the shattering of lives that occurs when that evil holds sway. In the wake of man's destructiveness, the first and even second generations of trauma are left profoundly doubtful about their own potency, the goodness in man and even God's love and involvement in the world. In this book, Dr. Milgraum balances his compassion for the traumatized with the courage to find a new way of living, involving trust of self, others and God. The fictionalized nature of the book gives the reader a vivid first-hand experience of its subject matter. But don't be fooled-there is much more truth in this book than fiction, as Dr. Milgraum describes a way to reengage with life, even in the face of devastating loss. This second printing of the book contains a new foreword by Michael Berenbaum, who is a leading figure in Holocaust studies. PRAISE FOR NEVER FORGET MY SOUL: "Dr. Milgraum is a gifted story teller. Like a fine symphony, themes present at the beginning are developed as the work evolves. There are moments of crescendo and of fortissimo, unexpected turns, but a confident direction... Never Forget My Soul is a brave work that touches the soul and invites us to remember a way that can nourish and not destroy the soul."--Michael Berenbaum, former Director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Dr. Milgraum's story demonstrates gently and with compassion that hope is renewed the moment a human being opens his heart to the plight of another. Much more than a mere story, Never Forget My Soul is a journey toward the discovery of ripened, abiding spirituality. --Yael Danieli, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. PLOT SUMMARY: This psycho-spiritual novel describes the struggles of two men. Joe is a bold and crass surgeon, who scoffs at anything above or beyond himself and freely indulges his passionate appetites. Adam is a painfully shy and anxious medical researcher, who seeks security in devout religious practice, but finds little relief from his discomfort. These most unlikely of associates come together, with four other individuals, under the watchful eye of David Web, their group therapist. In order to find healing, the patients must tell their stories, and, in so doing, Adam and Joe find a common bond in war-torn Europe and its soul-numbing Holocaust, sixty years before. Both Adam and Joe must confront ghosts from that time, ghosts that now live in them. Adam and Joe struggle together until both are forever changed, hope is renewed and a new spirituality is forged. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Milgraum, a child of a Holocaust survivor, is a clinical psychologist and former attorney, who is in private practice in Silver Spring, MD. He has extensive experience with group therapy, trauma, family conflict and depth-oriented psychology. He lives in Maryland with his wife, four children and a dog.