SUN CITY, Calif., Oct. 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- History is meant to teach people lessons learned from the past. In her new book, Impossible to Forget: Living with Anti-Semitism (now available through AuthorHouse), author J.J. Patrick revisits a period of intense hatred that is all too relevant in these modern times.
Set in 1945 just after World War II, the story follows the trials of Anna Balak, a 13-year-old, sheltered Egyptian girl, as she traverses the halls of her new high school in a predominately German town. Anna's olive skin and dark hair stand out against the blonde hair and blue eyes of the girls in her school. Although she is a Christian, her features are instantly mistaken for those of a Jewish person and make her the target of malicious harassment from her classmates. What should have been days of happiness and freedom are instead filled with misery.
Despite her protests, she cannot convince the other students she is not Jewish. She endures one and a half years of unrelenting hatred and hostility, from verbal abuse to swastikas on her locker. Anna tries to deal with the cruelty, but as her mental and physical health start to slip, she knows she must escape the school and the suffocating persecution.
Patrick pens a touching account of the horrible prejudice that is Impossible to Forget. She feels many people, especially teenagers, can relate to this kind of story.
"If you are a young Jewish girl, or boy, you can literally feel what Anna was experiencing at school, being persecuted by teachers and students alike. I have had students who have read this book and say, 'I can relate to this!'" Patrick says. "It is very frightening to be surrounded by hate, and no-one to go to for help."
Patrick lives in Southern California with her husband of 49 years. While she says shopping is her favorite pastime, she has also published numerous poems. Impossible to Forget, her debut novel, was inspired by a 1,200-word essay she wrote for The Institute of Children's Literature.
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