Burnt Toast

In Burnt Toast, Nancy Gerber searches for the story of her immigrant grandmother, who fled antisemitism in the Ukraine at the age of fifteen, during the early years of the 20th century. The author's grandmother maintained a stalwart silence about the traumas she'd faced: leaving mother and homeland behind, never to return, encountering antisemitism in the new country that was now home, isolation, poverty, and despair. In spite of the grandmother's silences, the author formed a strong bond with this enigmatic woman, whose flashes of humor and tenderness were a source of comfort and inspiration. "A heartbreaking remembrance written in powerful, poetic language." - Kirkus Reviews