Overview

At the outbreak of WWI, the Spiegels flee their home in Poland. The Hasidic couple struggles to adjust to life in Vienna. One daughter is in love with a man from an unsuitable background. Two sons drift from orthodoxy, embrace Zionism and face danger on the frontlines. Empires fall and a fragile peace descends. The family scatters across Europe and Palestine as the Nazi menace looms. This time, the Spiegels will not emerge unscathed. As Nazi horrors are unleashed, doors of refuge are slammed shut leaving most of the family trapped. Young and old perish, some escape, but what price will the survivors pay as they struggle to rebuild shattered lives? Based on a true story of love, loss, despair and hope, this turbulent and mesmerizing saga spans four generations, weaving one family's experiences into the fabric of Jewish 20th-century history. Captured in two first-person memoirs—and presented along with added historical references—this is a remarkable story of resilience and survival that describes a resounding triumph of the human spirit spanning nine decades.

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Reviews

The title of Helen Joyce's Good for a Single Journey is lifted from the visa her mother obtained from British Passport Control in Prague just a month before the start of World War II. It would be wrong to assume that her book is therefore simply an account of the impact of that war on her family. Its scope is far wider and its nature more ambitious. In an intriguing mix of fact and fiction, Helen Joyce uses her real-life family histories, going back to her great grandparents, as the basis of her semi-history, semi-novel that traces the traumatic impact of the politics of the twentieth century on a Jewish family. Written with compassion and understanding, her story is both moving and absorbing. Starting in Galicia just after the start of the World War I and ending in Israel in 1962, it will resonate with many families whose experiences also encompassed those momentous years. -Neville Teller, BBC dramatist, author of The Chaos in the Middle East, One Man's Israel, columnist and book reviewer Jerusalem Post and Eurasia Review Helen Joyce, in her remarkable and moving book, Good for a Single Journey, takes us on a personal and historical voyage. Her book not only adds to the significant oeuvre written on the Holocaust, it defines the essence of survival and hope which helped pave the way to the creation of the modern State of Israel. I could not put it down! -Mindy Weisel, Artist, Author of AFTER: The Obligation of Beauty, Touching Quiet: Reflections in Solitude Helen Joyce tells the extraordinary story of her family's journey starting with her great grandparents in early 20th-century Poland. She follows four generations in Europe and Palestine weaving together their experiences through two world wars and the early years of the State of Israel. The book takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster through some of the worst atrocities known to man. The book culminates in Israel, where some family members, having survived the Shoah struggle to rebuild shattered lives. -Andrea Samuels, Columnist, writer and editor for The Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Telegraph Helen Joyce has painted on a huge canvas stretching from 1914 to 1962 to tell the remarkable story of her extended Jewish family. This ambitious project describes the movement of Jews from the small shtetls of Eastern Europe. Many chapters start with a brief summary of key historical events which are then brought to life through the experiences of each individual character. We follow the fate of the five children of Pessya and Shmaryahu and the legacy of the trauma of the Holocaust inherited by their surviving descendants. Helen Joyce sketches vivid characters and, through their struggles and achievements, we are reminded of the vital importance of the State of Israel: a revived homeland and refuge to which a surviving remnant of the Jewish people has returned. -Sonia Case, Author Burying the Ghosts Good for a Single Journey is wonderful. It's an evocative, character-rich, historically accurate snapshot of a period of dramatic upheaval. Above all, it's a moving story that's hard to put down. -Gregory Zuckerman, Special Writer. The Wall Street Journal

"""The title of Helen Joyce's Good for a Single Journey is lifted from the visa her mother obtained from British Passport Control in Prague just a month before the start of World War II. It would be wrong to assume that her book is therefore simply an account of the impact of that war on her family. Its scope is far wider and its nature more ambitious. In an intriguing mix of fact and fiction, Helen Joyce uses her real-life family histories, going back to her great grandparents, as the basis of her semi-history, semi-novel that traces the traumatic impact of the politics of the twentieth century on a Jewish family. Written with compassion and understanding, her story is both moving and absorbing. Starting in Galicia just after the start of the World War I and ending in Israel in 1962, it will resonate with many families whose experiences also encompassed those momentous years."" —Neville Teller, BBC dramatist, author of The Chaos in the Middle East, One Man's Israel, columnist and book reviewer Jerusalem Post and Eurasia Review ""Helen Joyce, in her remarkable and moving book, Good for a Single Journey, takes us on a personal and historical voyage. Her book not only adds to the significant oeuvre written on the Holocaust, it defines the essence of survival and hope which helped pave the way to the creation of the modern State of Israel. I could not put it down!"" —Mindy Weisel, artist and author of AFTER: The Obligation of Beauty, Touching Quiet: Reflections in Solitude ""Helen Joyce tells the extraordinary story of her family's journey starting with her great grandparents in early 20th-century Poland. She follows four generations in Europe and Palestine weaving together their experiences through two world wars and the early years of the State of Israel. The book takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster through some of the worst atrocities known to man. The book culminates in Israel, where some family members, having survived the Shoah struggle to rebuild shattered lives."" —Andrea Samuels, Columnist, writer and editor for The Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Telegraph ""Helen Joyce has painted on a huge canvas stretching from 1914 to 1962 to tell the remarkable story of her extended Jewish family. This ambitious project describes the movement of Jews from the small shtetls of Eastern Europe. Many chapters start with a brief summary of key historical events which are then brought to life through the experiences of each individual character. We follow the fate of the five children of Pessya and Shmaryahu and the legacy of the trauma of the Holocaust inherited by their surviving descendants. Helen Joyce sketches vivid characters and, through their struggles and achievements, we are reminded of the vital importance of the State of Israel: a revived homeland and refuge to which a surviving remnant of the Jewish people has returned."" —Sonia Case, author Burying the Ghosts ""Good for a Single Journey is wonderful. It's an evocative, character-rich, historically accurate snapshot of a period of dramatic upheaval. Above all, it's a moving story that's hard to put down."" —Gregory Zuckerman, Special Writer. The Wall Street Journal"

The title of Helen Joyce's Good for a Single Journey is lifted from the visa her mother obtained from British Passport Control in Prague just a month before the start of World War II. It would be wrong to assume that her book is therefore simply an account of the impact of that war on her family. Its scope is far wider and its nature more ambitious. In an intriguing mix of fact and fiction, Helen Joyce uses her real-life family histories, going back to her great grandparents, as the basis of her semi-history, semi-novel that traces the traumatic impact of the politics of the twentieth century on a Jewish family. Written with compassion and understanding, her story is both moving and absorbing. Starting in Galicia just after the start of the World War I and ending in Israel in 1962, it will resonate with many families whose experiences also encompassed those momentous years. -Neville Teller, BBC dramatist, author of The Chaos in the Middle East, One Man's Israel, columnist and book reviewer Jerusalem Post and Eurasia Review Helen Joyce, in her remarkable and moving book, Good for a Single Journey, takes us on a personal and historical voyage. Her book not only adds to the significant oeuvre written on the Holocaust, it defines the essence of survival and hope which helped pave the way to the creation of the modern State of Israel. I could not put it down! -Mindy Weisel, Artist, Author of AFTER: The Obligation of Beauty, Touching Quiet: Reflections in Solitude Helen Joyce tells the extraordinary story of her family's journey starting with her great grandparents in early 20th-century Poland. She follows four generations in Europe and Palestine weaving together their experiences through two world wars and the early years of the State of Israel. The book takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster through some of the worst atrocities known to man. The book culminates in Israel, where some family members, having survived the Shoah struggle to rebuild shattered lives. -Andrea Samuels, Columnist, writer and editor for The Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Telegraph Helen Joyce has painted on a huge canvas stretching from 1914 to 1962 to tell the remarkable story of her extended Jewish family. This ambitious project describes the movement of Jews from the small shtetls of Eastern Europe. Many chapters start with a brief summary of key historical events which are then brought to life through the experiences of each individual character. We follow the fate of the five children of Pessya and Shmaryahu and the legacy of the trauma of the Holocaust inherited by their surviving descendants. Helen Joyce sketches vivid characters and, through their struggles and achievements, we are reminded of the vital importance of the State of Israel: a revived homeland and refuge to which a surviving remnant of the Jewish people has returned. -Sonia Case, Author Burying the Ghosts

Author Information

Born in London in 1953 to Jewish refugees from Hitler's Europe, Helen Joyce graduated from University College, London with BSc (Hons) in Psychology. After relationship counseling training and some years of clinical research, Helen took up teaching. She taught Psychology in Colleges of Further Education around London and at Immanuel College, Bushey where she was Head of Sixth Form. She retired to Israel in 2013 together with her husband Alan. The couple is blessed with three children, children-in-law and a brood of growing grandchildren. Helen enjoys swimming, gardening, reading, quizzes, word games and writing.

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