Tears Over Russia, Lisa Brahin
Tears Over Russia, Lisa Brahin
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Tears Over Russia
A Search for Family and the Legacy of Ukraine's Pogroms

Author: Lisa Brahin

Narrator: Eva Kaminsky

Unabridged: 9 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/10/2023

Synopsis

Between 1917 and 1921, twenty years before the Holocaust began, an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 Jews were murdered in anti-Jewish pogroms across the Ukraine. Lisa grew up transfixed by her grandmother Channa’s stories about her family being forced to flee their hometown of Stavishche, as armies and bandit groups raided village after village, killing Jewish residents. Channa described a perilous three-year journey through Russia and Romania, led at first by an American who had snuck into the Ukraine to save his immediate family and ended up leading an exodus of nearly eighty people to safety. With almost no published sources to validate her grandmother’s tales, Lisa embarked on an incredible journey to tell Channa’s story, forging connections with archivists around the world to find elusive documents to fill in the gaps of what happened in Stavishche. She also tapped into connections closer to home, gathering testimonies from her grandmother’s relatives, childhood friends, and neighbors. The result is a moving historical family narrative that speaks to universal human themes—the resilience and hope of ordinary people surviving the ravages of history and human cruelty. With the growing passage of time, it is unlikely that we will see another family saga emerge so richly detailing this forgotten time period. Tears Over Russia eloquently proves that true life is sometimes more compelling than fiction.

About Eva Kaminsky

Eva Kaminsky is a professional actress, director, and audiobook narrator. An Audie nominee and two-time winner of the Earphones Award, she has recorded over 150 audiobooks in genres ranging from romance to young adult.

About Lisa Brahin

Lisa Brahin is an accomplished Jewish genealogist and researcher. In 2003, she helped rediscover the lost location of the original handwritten manuscript Megilat HaTevah (Scroll of the Slaughter), which she considers one of the most important documents ever recorded on the Russian pogroms. A graduate of George Washington University's Columbian College, she is a two-town project coordinator for Jewishgen.org's international Yizkor Book Project (Holocaust Memorial Book Project).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Heidi on June 08, 2022

Set in the early 20th century, Brahin provides an account of her grandmother, Channa’s accounts of escaping the perils of Ukraine as pogroms across the country took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews. traveling first through Russia and then Romania, Channa’s family traveled over the course o......more

Goodreads review by Lanny on July 05, 2022

Tears Over Russia brought tears to my eyes, for several reasons. One, I have a direct connection to the story as my life partner was a Cutler (see footnote on page 211), so many of the characters were very real to me. Second, because of the author’s vivid account of the pogroms and the murder of tho......more

Goodreads review by K on July 17, 2022

Tears Over Russia by Lisa Brahin is an incredible true tale of one man's rescue from almost certain death of almost 100 family members from the pogroms and rampant murder of the early part of the 20th century in what is now Ukraine. The author presents this history, worthy of a Hollywood epic in the......more

Goodreads review by Denise on December 08, 2024

This was a carefully researched and thoughtful account of the author’s family and struggles in the Ukraine before coming to the United States. The book grabbed my attention with a personal story between the author and her grandmother. On page xiii, she explains that her book is, “Grandma Anne’s vivi......more

Goodreads review by Shelly on July 24, 2023

Soon after author, Lisa Brahin, married, she began thinking about her Jewish maternal ancestry, shrouded in mystery. Her grandmother’s stories about fleeing pogroms in Ukraine had mesmerised her as a child and, as she entered this new phase of her own life, she longed to know more. This curiosity le......more

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