{"product_id":"we-must-not-think-of-ourselves-9798885799300","title":"We Must Not Think of Ourselves","description":"\"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInspired by a little-known piece of history--the underground group that kept an archive to ensure that the lives of Jewish occupants of the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II were not lost to history--this is a heart-wrenching novel of love and defiance that \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e calls \"gripping, emotional, and against all odds, hopeful.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn a November day in 1940, Adam Paskow becomes a prisoner in the Warsaw Ghetto, where the Jews of the city are cut off from their former lives and held captive by Nazi guards to await an uncertain fate. Weeks later, he is approached by a mysterious figure with a surprising request: Would he join a secret group of archivists working to preserve the truth of what is happening inside these walls?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdam agrees and begins taking testimonies from his students, friends, and neighbors. He learns about their childhoods and their daydreams, their passions and their fears, their desperate strategies for safety and survival. The stories form a portrait of endurance in a world where no choices are good ones.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the people Adam interviews is his flatmate Sala Wiskoff, who is stoic, determined, and funny--and married with two children. Over the months of their confinement, in the presence of her family, Adam and Sala fall in love. As they desperately carve out intimacy, their relationship feels both impossible and vital, their connection keeping them alive.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut when Adam discovers a possible escape from the Ghetto, he is faced with an unbearable choice: whom can he save, and at what cost?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eInspired by the testimony-gathering project with the code name Oneg Shabbat, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Lauren Grodstein draws readers into the lives of people living on the edge. Told with immediacy and heart, \u003ci\u003eWe Must Not Think of Ourselves\u003c\/i\u003e is a piercing story of love, determination, and sacrifice.\u003c\/p\u003e\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLauren Grodstein is the author of \u003ci\u003eOur Short History, The Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year \u003ci\u003eThe Explanation for Everything, \u003c\/i\u003eand the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times-\u003c\/i\u003ebestselling \u003ci\u003eA Friend of the Family\u003c\/i\u003e, among other works. Her stories, essays, and articles have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies, and have been translated into French, German, Chinese, and Italian, among other languages. Her work has also appeared in \u003ci\u003eElle, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, Refinery29, Salon.com, Barrelhouse, Post Road, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post. \u003c\/i\u003eShe is a professor of English at Rutgers University-Camden, where she teaches in the MFA program in creative writing. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Thorndike Press Large Print","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50899184091410,"sku":"9798885799300","price":37.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3d2671d1-fed0-4124-a5da-a6609be94b3d.jpg?v=1738348565","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/we-must-not-think-of-ourselves-9798885799300","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}