Tatae's Promise by Sherry Maysonave and Moises J. Goldman is a compelling historical novel that intertwines the harrowing reality of the Holocaust with a powerful tale of survival, resilience, and love. Based on the true story of Hinda Mondlak, this book is more than just a recount of her escape from Auschwitz; it’s a vivid portrayal of the unbreakable spirit that drives her and her sister to defy the odds. Hinda’s story begins with a devastating intrusion into her life—a moment when the front door of her home in Poland is shattered, marking the beginning of her family's horrific journey under Nazi oppression.

Tatae's Promise is a powerful recollection of a horrific period in history. How this book came to be is a story in itself. The narrative is raw, honest, and unflinching, offering readers a deep connection with Hinda’s determination to survive and honor her father’s last words: “You will live; you will tell.” Moises J. Goldman translated and transcribed tape recordings of his mother’s words, and Sherry Maysonave wrote them into a beautiful and emotional story. Together, they narrate the terror of this moment, drawing readers into the gut-wrenching reality of Hinda's life as she and her family are ripped from their home and thrust into the nightmarish world of concentration camps. Tatae's Promise is an essential read for anyone interested in historical fiction, particularly those who appreciate stories that are as educational as they are emotionally compelling. The book’s historical accuracy and narrative strength make it a standout in the genre. This book offers a fresh and deeply personal perspective that’s worth every moment of your time.

In the fictionalized memoir Tatae's Promise by Sherry Maysonave and Moises J. Goldman, eighteen-year-old Hinda Mondlak was living with other Jewish farming families in Zieluñ as Nazi forces occupied Poland, marking the start of Jewish persecution. Her family endured severe hardships in an overcrowded village ghetto and faced a grueling march to Auschwitz under harsh winter conditions. After experiencing extreme suffering, Hinda and her sister managed to escape this perilous environment. She survived numerous threats to her life, including starvation, beatings, illness, and a close call with advancing Russian troops. Amidst these brutal conditions, Hinda clung to the hope inspired by her father’s final letter, written before his execution. This letter, meant to reach her from prison, served as a source of encouragement and strength during her harrowing ordeal.

It's impossible to be anything but moved by Tatae's Promise by Sherry Maysonave and Moises J. Goldman, mostly because it is based on the first-hand account of a Holocaust survivor, but also because it is so graphic in the horrors it describes. This is a monster of a story in both its size and what the authors depict, and as a result, it took far longer to read than I imagined it might. Out of all the heartbreaking scenes, the one that forced me to take a meditative break is when Hinda's youngest sister, Sara, is separated during the selection process upon entering Auschwitz. It is an absolutely agonizing scene and even though as readers we are given somewhat of a merciful closure through the comfort of another woman, it is really hard to reconcile the experience to anything at all most have ever encountered. Through it, though, is hope. We know Hinda survives because otherwise there would be no promise to fulfill, and no story to share. And when hope is all there is, and we know it will flourish, it feels beautiful. Recommended.

Tatae’s Promise by Sherry Maysonave and Moises J. Goldman is the harrowing, yet ultimately triumphant story of Hinda and Rachel Mondlak’s incredible survival and escape from the most feared of all Nazi death camps; Auschwitz. As the rising fear of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party began to spread through Europe in the late 1930s, the Jewish Mondlak patriarch made the wise but painful decision to send his eldest seven children out of Poland to North America and, for most of them, ultimately to Mexico City. With just the two parents and four young children remaining they waited in trepidation for the terror they feared was coming. Deported from their home, the family initially moved to an old mill in a Polish ghetto, where the family struggled to find food just to survive. After the death of her parents in the ghetto, young Hinda found herself mother and father to her two sisters and one brother. As the quartet was transported to Auschwitz, Hinda's mind was filled with the last words of her father, her beloved Tatae. She approached everything from that point on, determined to fulfill her father’s last wishes. 

Every time I read a story about the Holocaust, and I’ve read many in my time, I am always deeply moved and astounded at the courage and determination of not just the survivors but all subjected to such horrific and evil abuse. Tatae’s Promise is an incredibly powerful recounting of Hinda's and Rachel’s time from their happy life pre-war, through the ghetto existence, their horrific time in Auschwitz, their amazing escape, the harrowing journey to freedom, and finally the joy of reunification with her elder brothers and their new life of freedom in Mexico City. What impressed me the most about this story is that it comes firsthand from the mouth of Hinda, through audiotapes recorded just before her death and handed to her son, Moises J. Goldman. The story was then entrusted to author Sherry Maysonave for writing and publishing. Through reading this story we get to know intimately the hearts, minds, and souls of these people, especially Hinda, Rachel, Wolf, and so many others in this horrific stain on humanity’s history. The clarity with which the sheer evil of such people as Joseph Mengele, Hermann Pister, and others is described is chillingly frightening and very real. What is not lost, though, is the many people who went out of their way, including many Germans and even some Nazis, to assist these two women, not to mention Wolf, who miraculously escaped death on numerous occasions. There is an overwhelming sense of injustice against the Jewish people woven through the story but ultimately the message is clear; humanity and decency will ultimately triumph. This is a story about the power of the human spirit to overcome all odds and its two main heroines are the epitome of this achievement. Hinda did faithfully fulfill her Tatae's desire - she did live and she did tell. This is absolutely one of my top reads this year and a book I highly recommend to everyone, not just aficionados of WWII stories or the Holocaust.

Reading Tatae’s Promise was a profoundly mind-blowing experience. What Sherry Maysonave, with the help of Moises J. Goldman, has brought to life from 11 tapes recorded by Moises’ mother, Hinda, is nothing short of brilliant. I have seen countless movies and documentaries about the horrors endured by Jews during the Nazi reign of terror, but what Hinda shared in her tapes is what those movies haven’t shown. Some aspects of Tatae’s Promise were more gut-churning than horror fiction. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! Through Sherry Maysonave’s outstanding narrative, dialogue, and descriptive skills, readers become absorbed in the story of how Hinda, Rachel, and their little sister Sara were initially torn from their happy homes, together with their parents, then put in long lines in the ghettos that would determine if they were of use to the Nazis or should be sent to the gas chambers. Hinda and Rachel never saw little Sara again. For over 2 years at Auschwitz, Hinda dreamed of escaping. She and Rachel were amongst only 200 persecuted Jews who succeeded. Others were cut up and experimented upon by the barbaric Joseph Mengele, or shot on sight if they took ill or succumbed to weakness and fatigue.

It was thanks to Hinda’s incredible determination to fulfill her promise to her father to one day tell their story and the handful of kind-hearted and brave people who helped them succeed that Hinda survived to share this true story. Many readers may find the graphic details hard to stomach but make no mistake: the horror, cruelty, pain, and heartache were real. As the story wound down, I found myself physically and mentally needing a release from the anger and tension that Hinda’s, Rachel’s, and Wolf’s (Moise’s father) suffering had generated in me. I needed a happy ending! That un-promised but happy ending when it came was most welcomed. Tatae’s Promise is simultaneously a horror story and a love story, but above all, it’s an incredibly skillful rendering of history. I, for one, feel privileged to have been invited to read this book. I will never forget it. Superb.

The last words from Hinda’s father (Tatae in Yiddish) were: “You will live, and you will tell.” It has taken many years for her story to be written from eleven audio tapes that Hinda Mondlak Goldman recorded before she died in 1985. Tatae’s Promise by Sherry Maysonave and Moises J Goldman is partly historical fiction but closely based on the true story of two sisters whose families were persecuted under the Nazi regime. They were thrown out of their house in Poland, sent to a ghetto with no amenities and only minimal food, and then later the girls were transported to the Auschwitz death camp. The descriptions of their fight for survival, the inhumanities, the torture, cruelty, and deprivations were horrendous, but at every turn, Hinda used her wits and intelligence to keep herself and her younger sister Rachel alive. She was truly inspiring. It has been recorded that only two hundred people ever escaped from Auschwitz and Hinda and Rachel were two of them. But even when they walked out of the gates, their problems were not over.

I have read many books about this period of European history, but few have touched me as deeply as this one. Tatae’s Promise by Sherry Maysonave and Moises J Goldman is earth-shattering. The descriptions of Auschwitz are almost too horrific to believe they could possibly be true. The story is told through the eyes of Hinda and her sister, who had promised their father to live and tell the world the real facts about their persecution. As a Jew, Hinda was marked as part of the Final Solution yet she planned to escape, one of very few to succeed. But this is only part of the tale; nowhere in Poland are she and her sister safe. I held my breath as the escapees searched for places to hide while the war raged around them. I could not put this book down. I walked every step with Hinda, every chapter made me gasp, and, in the end, I felt humbled and ashamed that our world could create the conditions she had to overcome. This is a true testament to what actually happened and it should be on every prescribed book list for every school so we never let it happen again. A truly great story, beautifully written, and one that will change your life. I will never forget this book.