Book Description

This epic book, spanning two continents, recounts the story of three generations of two families whose lives unexpectedly intersect in their adopted country. Beautifully capturing the loss faced when war dislocates families, it also tells of the struggles and challenges of starting anew and adapting to a different way of life. With Just One Suitcase serves as a tribute to the courage and resilience of two men who bear the scars of war and face adversity without surrendering their optimism for the future. “Cheryl Koenig is to be congratulated. She has written a masterpiece. With great skill Cheryl has written an immensely readable, gripping biog documenting daily life in a crazed world. The story begins with a thumbnail sketch of life in semi rural Romania at the outbreak of the second world war and moves on to relate the experiences, in that country, of her then youthful father & father-in-law. Many years later, in Sydney, Australia, they chance to be reunited when Cheryl nervously introduces her father to the father of her future husband. The writing is powerful, in the first person, giving the reader a fly-on-the-wall feeling of being there. Having thoroughly researched the period Cheryl is able to construe the hitherto unknown Romanian perspective with great credibility, and, as if they hadn’t already suffered enough, she goes on to relate how these amazing young men had the courage and strength to take flight and start a new life in this far flung land. That they survived at all is a miracle.” – Sylvia Levi, Goodreads review