Publisher Description

Nathan is a young, impressionable boy who is saved from the Nazis by Catholic gentiles in his homeland, Holland. But in order to survive he must learn to be a good Catholic and undergo baptism. From there it is only a small leap to begin his studies in the Catholic priesthood. By the time he is fifteen, Nathan learns of his parent's conversion to Catholicism. While studying to be a priest, Nathan confronts a notorious Jew-hating priest and realises that he cannot represent a religion nurtured from the seeds of anti-Semitism. After his father's death he leaves the Catholic boarding school to fulfil his army duty and then begins the study of law. Becoming a member of the Dutch Zionist Students Union helps Nathan further identify with his Jewish roots, and he decides to return to the Jewish tradition. He marries a Jewish woman, but the traumas he has undergone begin to insidiously destroy his ability to love and be loved. When he immigrates to Israel with his wife he makes a momentous decision: he will take on the obligations and practices of an Orthodox Jew. This is a true story of one man's heroic battle for physical survival in the face of Nazi persecution and his never-ending spiritual battle to recapture his soul.

Author Biography

Fred Daniels was born in Amsterdam in 1932. From 1942 to 1945 he was forced into hiding in Holland. After the war he studied law at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Nijmegen. Mr. Daniels has written two previous books: Schimmen in het Duister, (Shadows in the Twilight), which has been translated into English, German and Hebrew, and Versteende Tranen, published in English as Endless Memories. He immigrated to Israel in January 1968 and today lives in Jerusalem, where he practices law.

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