The Choice

Escaping the Past and Embracing the Possible

By: Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

A powerful, moving memoir - and a practical guide to healing - written by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor help her treat patients and allow them to escape the prisons of their own minds.

Edith Eger was 16 years old when the Nazis came to her hometown in Hungary and took her Jewish family to an internment center and then to Auschwitz. Her parents were sent to the gas chamber by Joseph Mengele soon after they arrived at the camp. Hours later Mengele demanded that Edie dance a waltz to "The Blue Danube" and rewarded her with a loaf of bread that she shared with her fellow prisoners. These women later helped save Edie's life. Edie and her sister survived Auschwitz, were transferred to the Mauthausen and Gunskirchen camps in Austria, and managed to live until the American troops liberated the camps in 1945 and found Edie in a pile of dying bodies.

One of the few living Holocaust survivors to remember the horrors of the camps, Edie has chosen to forgive her captors and find joy in her life every day. Years after she was liberated from the concentration camps, Edie went back to college to study psychology. She combines her clinical knowledge and her own experiences with trauma to help others who have experienced painful events large and small. Dr. Eger has counselled veterans suffering from PTSD, women who were abused, and many others who learned that they, too, can choose to forgive, find resilience, and move forward. She lectures frequently on the power of love and healing.

The Choice weaves Eger's personal story with case studies from her work as a psychologist. Her patients and their stories illustrate different phases of healing and show how people can choose to escape the prisons they construct in their minds and find freedom, regardless of circumstance. Eger's story is an inspiration for everyone. And her message is powerful and important: "Your pain matters and is worth healing: You can choose to be joyful and free." She is 89 years old and still dancing.

©2017 Edith Eva Eger (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

should be a required reading for every human being

the content, the writing, the narration, the message made this book moving and incredible

This book is now in my top 10 favorite reads of all time

My grandfather’s family lost over 100 relatives to the concentration camps. Usually I avoid stories about WWII because it feels both universally and personally painful. For some reason I was compelled to pick this book up. It’s amazing. Equally as uplifting as it is a stark reality check of what has been and what can be. I’d recommend this book to anyone on a path of self discovery, growth, grief, trauma or survivorship. I’d recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t think they’re on one of those paths. Because we’re all searching and we all feel broken and inadequate at times. Dr, Eger’s story has threads to weave into our own lives for anyone open to listening.

Wow

This book is so powerful and transformative. I could not stop listening. Dr. Eger has written a guide for healing ourselves, and reminds us we all have need for healing and connection. I admire her courage.

Powerful balance of reflection, courage & reality

Fantastic story from a truly amazing individual. Reflections on victimhood as a choice with a mix of Stoicism

Amazing memior

The Choice was a beautiful story of survival and resilience. It was both haunting and healing.

profoundly uplifting and humbling

possibly one of the most important books I will ever read, and I read a lot. so glad the audio version so I could completely immerse myself in her story.

simply amazing! thank you!

loved this book. finished it in about 3 days. thank you so much for sharing this!

The choice is not just another story about the horrors of WW2

This book was chosen for our book club. We have read many books over the years about WW2. This is a must read as it helps us all to embrace that which we have control over-our choices. We may not be able to choose what happens to us or the harm inflicted on us by “THE HITLERS” in our lives but we all have choices of how we respond.
The story is personal and inspiring.
I especially liked the last part of the book that took a new direction of sharing some of Dr. Eger’s actual clinical experiences in helping guide clients through their loss, grieving, and eventually taking control of their lives.

Deeply Disturbing and Moving. A Must Read.

Dr. Eger's personal journey of survival and her efforts to make meaning of her life after time in a concentration camp is both heartbreaking and inspired. You want her to win and she does. This is a tale of the resilience of the human spirit and a climb back up to a place of dignity. A must read

Mesmerizing book. Masterful narration

Full of wisdom. I will relisten many times. kudos to the narrator. she worked very hard and it shows. thank you.