Join us as author Audrey Birnbaum talks about and reads from her new book "American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy."  

"American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy" is a riveting and inspiring book.  This book is a true story of author Audrey Birnbaum's father, Jack Wolf Schwersenz, his family's nail-biting escape from Germany, and his subsequent adventure-filled efforts to embrace his adopted home.

About "American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy:"

In the summer of 1941, 11-year old Wolf is growing up amidst the rubble and antisemitism of war-torn Nazi Berlin. Destitute and facing deportation, he must leave behind his sister and travel with his family across a continent entrenched in war. With nothing in hand but expired visas to the US, Wolf and his family must figure out how to sneak aboard the Spanish freighter the Navemar, a ship that will gain its reputation as the "Hell Ship of Death." But this is only the beginning of Wolf's saga.

"American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy" is a heart-stopping true story full of last-minute rescues, near-death encounters, and survival against untold odds. It is also a story about coming of age, family dysfunction and national identity, and is a resounding testament to the triumph of the human spirit.

Using the notes compiled by her father, author Audrey Birnbaum vividly retells a poignant account of Wolf's childhood in Berlin, his riveting escape from Nazi Germany, and the continued challenges he faced even as he reached freedom.

About the Author Audrey Birnbaum

Growing up in New York in the late 1960's, Audrey Birnbaum assumed that watching Holocaust documentaries was a perfectly normal family activity. On her first day of elementary school, Audrey sat in the cafeteria, unwrapped her liverwurst sandwich, and excitedly told her new classmates about her public television proclivities. Her Brady Bunch-watching peers had never heard of PBS, but they had heard of PB&J (and they weren't too keen on liverwurst either). They made it abundantly clear: Audrey's childhood was, in fact, not normal at all.

We will never know whether it was schoolyard bullying or watching tragic Shoah documentaries that was responsible for Audrey's acute sensitivity to others; but that empathy may have helped pave the way for her choice of medicine as a career. Audrey chose to specialize in Pediatric Gastroenterology - for who needed more help than children; and where could anyone feel more suffering than in one's gut? Day in and day out, she watched intricate family dynamics play out in the context of fragile health. Audrey listened to each patient's story until she could retell it with clarity and give it meaning. Through witnessing and recording these tender dramas, the seeds of writing had been planted.

Shortly after her father's death in 2018, Audrey stumbled upon his extensive notes detailing his childhood escape from Nazi Germany. Audrey felt compelled to start writing his riveting story - a story addressing themes that are pressingly relevant today. While "American Wolf" deals with tragedy and loss, it punctuates the triumph of the human spirit. It is a memoir of Holocaust survival, a family drama, an immigration tale, and an often funny coming-of-age story that is sure to have an impact on anyone who has experienced prejudice, displacement, or questions about their identity.

With her cherished medical career in the rearview mirror, Audrey now enjoys singing, writing, reading, and being with friends who also had quirky childhoods. She lives with her husband in Westchester County, New York, and has three marvelous grown children. Audrey is currently working on her second book.

Audrey Birnbaum and "American Wolf" is featured in national media and TV including ABC TV, CW TV, CBS TV, FOX TV and more.

For more information on author Audrey Birnbaum and "American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy," visit: https://www.audreybirnbaumauthor.com/

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