New Book available to purchase on May 15
By Kevin Devlin
As a young boy Brian Wallace loved playing basketball and was a darn good player. When he put away his sneakers he turned to writing and ever since then he been quite busy writing books. He wrote “A Southie Memoir”, “Night Runner”, and co-authored “Final Confession.” And now he’s collaborated with Steve Ross, the survivor of ten Nazi concentration camps, and Boston-based lawyer, Glenn Frank, to write the book, FROM BROKEN GLASS: My Story of Finding Hope in Hitler’s Death Camps to Inspire a New Generation. This book, with a foreword by former Boston mayor and US Ambassador to the Vatican, Ray Flynn, is published by Hachette Books and will go on sale on May 15.
Review
“As a young child in Nazi-occupied Poland, Steve Ross (then Smulek Rozental) endured unspeakable violence and deprivation in ten concentration camps. He lost most of his family to the Holocaust, but through sheer determination and a lot of luck, he survived his brutal ordeal. He went on to emigrate to the United States, where he used his trauma to help improve the lives of others, ensuring that inner-city youth in Boston, Massachusetts could pursue their dreams and escape their own difficult conditions. A true testament to the power of human resilience, Steve teaches us how even those who suffer the most can find strength and purpose in the service of others.
Ross transports readers into a gripping survival story, as he is repeatedly forced to decide who is telling him the truth or which fateful queue he waits in might be luring him to his death, enduring along the way fear and abuse, hunger and pain. With poignant insight into where we find resilience in the face of human frailty, Ross explores how resourcefulness, determination, and most importantly the help of his fellow prisoners, pulled him through the starvation and slave labor he survived in such notorious concentration camps as Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau.
Ross also shows us how his childhood experiences finding strength and love in the most unlikely places inspired him to devote his life after the Holocaust to helping forge a better world for underprivileged children. He worked for the city of Boston for nearly four decades, where he served as a licensed psychologist working in the public schools, and later conceived of and founded the New England Holocaust Memorial, one of Boston’s most visited sites, located on Boston’s Freedom Trail next to historic Faneuil Hall.
Taking readers from the horrors of Nazi Germany to the streets of South Boston, this is the story of one child’s stunning experiences, the piercing wisdom into humanity with which they endowed him, and the drive for social justice that has come to define his life. FROM BROKEN GLASS is a wise and intimate memoir about finding strength in the face of despair and an inspiring meditation on how we can unlock the morality within us to build a better world.”
More praise for FROM BROKEN GLASS
“A timely and beautiful book.” Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Little Failure
“From Broken Glass is an opportunity to spend time in the presence of an extraordinary man. No one I know of has ever responded to unimaginable brutality with such generosity of deed and spirit, recounted here with understated eloquence.” Congressman Barney Frank
“Steve Ross’s tireless work has helped ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust are never repeated.” Israel Arbeiter, survivor of Auschwitz
“Steve Ross is a quiet leader for our city in the things we care about—helping people overcome obstacles, mentoring youth, providing the power of example….As he did this work, Ross brought people together across all kinds of historic boundaries—neighborhoods, races, religions. His life is enough to inspire us beyond words. The full story, told here, is one of thousands of lives and a grateful city he helped to transform.” Marty Walsh, Mayor of Boston
“From Broken Glass reminds us of the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights that the human spirit can reach. Steve Ross tells a remarkable story of survival and shows us how a person of good will and character can persevere through unspeakable tragedy and live a life of generosity and kindness.” Frank S. Holleman III, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education
“Striking, fierce, and ultimately uplifting, From Broken Glass is the moving story of how one man found his moral purpose in the crucible of the Holocaust and waged a life-long war against prejudice in all its forms. Just when we need it most, Steve Ross offers our nation a rallying cry for how we can overcome the hatred that divides us.” Robert Trestan, New England Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League
“From Broken Glass is a captivating and deeply personal story of a young boy’s experience in the Holocaust, and the ways that event shaped his life as an adult in America. Ross’s remarkably detailed account stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. It is relevant to this day, a reminder of what can happen when we lose sight of the humanity of others in society.” Senator Dianne Feinstein
“Throughout his childhood, Steve Ross was given every reason to hate, fear, and withdraw, but instead he has spent his life building a kinder, gentler, more hopeful world. You cannot read Ross’s story and resist his contagious optimism for a better tomorrow.” Congressman Joe Kennedy III
“Remarkable…a profound and compelling addition to the literature of the Holocaust at a time when it is more critical than ever.” Ayelet Waldman, bestselling author of Love and Treasure
“The author emerges as a resilient character who is determined not to allow the enemies of the past to re-emerge in the present unchallenged; his book opens with a cri de coeur on Charlottesville, and it ends with a defiant testimonial: “I am a survivor.” A worthy memoir of dark times, full of practical lessons for resistance and community organizing today.” Kirkus Reviews
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