Not Paradise

“How do you collect the shattered pieces of a broken mirror and put them back together, without the reflections of your own fractured face leering back at you? How can you handle these jagged fragments and not suffer deep cuts that bleed?”

Anna Rosner Blay, author of Sister, Sister (shortlisted for the Age Book of the Year and the New South Wales Premier’s Awards), presents the moving and revealing stories of four women who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and strove to rebuild their shattered lives in Australia, a safe and sun-filled land on the opposite side of the globe.

Blay explores their remarkable tenacity to hold on to life and move forward. She interweaves their narratives with her own journey of resilience and healing after the despair of a broken marriage.

Through this compelling inquiry, Blay examines how we understand the past, find the courage to endure suffering and hardship, and ultimately discover a path forward—beyond trauma—to a life filled with hope and fulfillment.