Overview

"In postwar Budapest, Aldó, a 42 year-old doctor who survived the concentration camp but lost his wife and children, slowly sinks into despair. One day a new patient arrives, 16- year-old Klára, who has lost her parents and siblings. The doctor soon discovers, behind Klára's silence and rage, a great love and determination to fight despair. The two become each other's new family, learning to live and love again after the horrors of the Holocaust. But the irunusual intimacy is threatened by Stalinist purges, revolution, and invasion. The author says: I wanted to write about the fine side of human beings-what I experienced from family members and others who survived the Holocaust. The hideous side of humans has already been described by many authors and read with gruesome fascination by countless readers. Yet, there are many who want to know more about the fine side of humanity that emerged and even blossomed during these perilous times. I recommend my story to these people. 1948 is a date with many different meanings for people in Hungary. I was simply preoccupied with my own birth while the main characters of this book struggled with their survival. They managed this heavy task in a more decent way than many others did as their earlier lives had provided them with sufficient sources of love for helping heal not only the trauma of 1944 but also the enduring Stalinist terror of the 1950s. I see the process of ""curing"" as being based on love. This is the central task of those who survive devastation. And it remains an important task for everyone as life represents daunting challenges. This is in part why I chose curing-as a psychotherapist-for my profession. Curing is also the message of my books on psychology. The present book is, however, different. It's personal."" Zsuzsa F. Várkonyi, author and psychotherapist (Hungary)"

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9781954176072

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Reviews

A distinctive novel with a healing mission. Várkonyi shows that, no matter how the Holocaust and subsequent (tyranny) tried to kill decency, individuality, and family, those who loved and loved well were able to regain their lives. Enikő Bollobás, Magyar Nemzet A marvelous literary work.... This book radiates serenity and strength, emphasizing the need-as a universal human drive-to survive a trauma that cannot be processed. Zsolt Szilveszter Szabó, FILMTEKERCS.com

A distinctive novel with a healing mission. Varkonyi shows that, no matter how the Holocaust and subsequent (tyranny) tried to kill decency, individuality, and family, those who loved and loved well were able to regain their lives. Eniko Bollobas, Magyar Nemzet A marvelous literary work.... This book radiates serenity and strength, emphasizing the need-as a universal human drive-to survive a trauma that cannot be processed. Zsolt Szilveszter Szabo, FILMTEKERCS.com

Author Information

"As a teenager, Zsuzsa F. Várlonyi spent three years in Vienna where she went to high school. She then studied psychology in Budapest, at Eötvös Loránd University, between 1967 and 1972, receiving her doctorate in 1975. Her first book on psychology, published in 1978 by Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, was based upon her doctoral dissertation. Dr. Várkonyi had the great honor to be co-author of a book on child psychology with the most original Hungarian mind in psychology in those years. Ferenc Mérei had an adventurous and close-to-tragic life. A sparkling intellect with thorough ethical beliefs and a weak sense of political realities, he studied in Paris but remained an outsider of his profession for most of his life. Many young students like Várkonyi, however, were attracted by his personality and learned great ideas and insights from him. After finishing her own psychoanalysis, she worked for five years as a child psychologist for a Budapest Counselling Center. Her next book (Már 100x megmondtam - I've Told You a Hundred Times) was conceived in those years, partly based on her experiences on that job. First published in 1986, the book reached its 12th edition this year (2021). In 1982, she received a copy of Thomas Gordon's revolutionary parent effectiveness training (P.E.T.) book, started to introduce his model of human relations for encounter groups, translated his book for Hungarian readers and adopted his concept in her books in order to eliminate psychological games. She taught psychology in the Teachers' College of Eötvös Loránd University from 1984 through 1987. The years between late 1987 and mid-1991 were spent in the U.S. where her husband, historian Tibor Frank, was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara - a great intellectual adventure, with a chance to compare two cultures, finding distinct positive features on both sides. Returning home, Dr. Várkonyi continued her professional service as a psychotherapist and also became a trainer for self-awareness groups. The number of groups was well above 100 when a few years ago she gradually handed it over to younger colleagues. She was a guest-expert of a series of performances on psychological topics made by the improv-theater ""Momentán"" of Budapest, saying a touching fare-well after the 100th evening. She also broadcast a weekly chat on different psychological issues on Hungarian Klub Rádió for six years. Zsuzsa Várkonyi remains active as a psychotherapist and has frequent invitations from various discussion and lecture forums on a variety of research and practical topics. The Appendix provides a list of her eight books on psychology-they are, however, all in Hungarian as she has refrained from translating these texts or covering the costs of translation and looking for publishers. She regrets this now. As an acknowledgement for her work in the field of adult education both as an author and a trainer, she was named an honorary professor of Eötvös Loránd University."

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