Honestly, this book was extremely hard for me to get through. I found the beginning to drag along and just couldn't get engaged.

That said, the family story and writing is great. It just didn't hit the mark for me right now. Had I picked it up at a different point my review may be different.

Tried reading it twice, and DNF'd twice.

Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust is written by
Meryl Frank.. Any time I read a family history during Holocaust time it stays with me for a long time. I never really knew about the clashing of Lithuania - so I learned a lot Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.

The book was a well done exploration of the author's connection to the Holocaust and over the years how she discovered her family's loss and who those people were that perished. It was well written, a history well researched, and an emotional impact I will never forget.

Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust by Meryl Frank was a very powerful, thought provoking and inspiring family memoir. Meryl Frank grew up fascinated by the family stories her beloved Aunt Mollie shared with her. As a young girl, Meryl loved going through the family photo albums that contained photos of relatives long since gone. Aunt Mollie had shared so many stories with Meryl about these relatives that Meryl felt like she knew them even though she had never met them. When Aunt Mollie was getting close to the end of her life, she imposed two responsibilities on Meryl. The first one was that Meryl was to be the “memorial candle “ for the family and the second one was that Meryl was to be the keeper of a very old book. It was a book that Meryl had never seen before or had known existed. The book was called, “Twenty-One and One”. Meryl was given explicit instructions from Aunt Mollie that she could never read it.

Those two responsibilities sparked Meryl to begin a journey that would span several decades. Meryl was intent on uncovering the fates and truth about what happened to her family In Lithuania during the Holocaust. It was an extensive journey that took Meryl, her husband and children through Lithuania, England, Paris, Canada and various parts of the United States. Meryl was especially intent on discovering the fate of her celebrated actress cousin, Franya. Meryl’s cousin, Franya, had been a prominent actress in the Yiddish theater before World War II. Meryl was particularly interested in uncovering her story and fate. During Meryl’s quest to uncover her family’s history, she honored her Aunt Mollie’s stipulation and did not read the book, “Twenty-One and One”. Meryl was intent on unearthing the information about her family through her own research, discoveries and leads. Meryl involved her family throughout. The lessons her family, especially her children, learned from her journey and discoveries were invaluable. Meryl lived up to the promise she made to her Aunt Mollie of being “the memorial candle “ for the family. She dug deep into the past but taught invaluable lessons to those of this generation so that the Holocaust would not be forgotten.

I was moved by Meryl Frank’s unrelenting dedication to pursuing the fate of her family during the Holocaust. It must have been such a satisfying feeling for Meryl to ultimately discover the sought after information she so desperately wanted to uncover about her family. Meryl finally put the pieces together that had been lost and buried for all those years. Meeting new relatives that she had not known she had must have been so special as well. The hands on lessons her children learned through her diligent work were so very important as well. The only reason that I didn’t give this memoir five stars was that I felt Meryl Frank delved too much into the detailed information concerning the history of those times. I found those parts a bit cumbersome. Overall, I really enjoyed reading her memoir and will recommend it highly to others.

Thank you to Hachette Books for allowing me to read Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust by Meryl Frank through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received this a free ebook from NetGalley.

I was thrilled to receive this book for review. I like to read about the holocaust. Combined with a secret, a well-known actress, and a forbidden book. It sounded too good to resist.

I know you're not to judge a book by its cover, but the cover enhances the story. I love that it features an old time period photo/passport and letters. The cover colors are muted. As a whole it starts the story and makes you wonder who is the woman? and beckons you to open the front cover.

Meryl, the narrator is given a forbidden book at a young age to safe guard. The forbidden book leads Meryl to shocking truths and discovers about Vilna, its culture, the resistance, hate, prejudice, and tragedy. Meryl also tries to locate her cousin, Franya, who prior to WW II was an actress.

Would you open the book? Would you look for answers like Meryl did? What would you do with your memories, the past, and the tragedy?

This was a really interesting book. I learned a lot about poland and the war and how people can turn against each other. Meryl what's determined to find out what happened to. Named FANNYA. Who was her cousin. This one was very determined because her aunt had this book and she didn't want anybody to read. It was like a journey in the mystery and how family somehow managed to survive the holocaust FANNYA was an actress In the YI TDI SH. Is Theatre in poland. The town name was V O l n a. Poland was divided in two ways between the germans and the russians. A lot of the jews left warsaw because of the german Present. Then the russian army was overtaken by the german soldiers so this became a real hardship for everybody in that town. F a n n y a manage to survive somehow. I learned a lot about this time in history how this woman was tracing her family and she spent a lot of time going over there at France England. And poland. I cannot believe how people the jews turned against their own people. It was a matter of survival but how do you do that to your own people. It was interesting to look at how she was very independent and how she managed to survive.. The holocaust is really hard to talk about bit's really interesting how these stories come out. They had a really wonderful life in this town. Until things became bad and they were forced into it ghetto. Some of the atrocities in this book I don't know how people survive this. I'm saying this was like a mystery because there was a lot of loose ends with her family scattered all over europe. It was interesting how her brother somehow ended up with pictures of her when she went to visi The book survived because people helped them keep the book going. I can't imagine how these people must have felt. This was a really great book and I really liked it. Historical part of it was interesting too how they could go back in time to these museums and look at fanny's past.

I loved this book. Mostly for the history. I am descended from Lithuanians and I did not know half of the history outlined within the book.

HOWEVER, 30% into the book, I kept yelling at the book...JUST READ THE DAMN BOOK ALREADY!
If the author had just read the book, she would have had a deeper appreciation for all that had happened within her family, while searching for her family.

FINALLY about 70% into she reads the book. FINALLY! The worst of what I feared (family were Nazi collaborators) did NOT come true...thank goodness.

I loved the painstakingly detailed approach that she committed to finding her relatives. I loved the thoughts, feelings and her mission to find relatives.

This is a history book, missing person book, and much more. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Lithuania, the Holocaust, families, and research.

Unearthed, by Meryl Frank, is a riveting and true Holocaust story. Frank, second-generation American-born, uncovers the heartbreaking facts of the European branch of her family who did not emigrate in time to escape the Nazi march through Europe. Frank’s determined search for the truth begins with a great-aunt who tells her stories of life in Europe before the war, and in particular, of a cousin who was a major star in the Yiddish theater. In some ways this is a "find your roots” saga, but it is also a stark reminder that history is both personal and public. Winston Churchill paraphrased George Santayana when he said, “Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Frank’s story is intimately personal. Her tenacious research is impressive. Yet, she succinctly ties the events of almost two generations ago to world events of today. While this chronicles one Jewish family, it is a story that will resonate in many countries, cultures, and people. I devoured this book, partly because I wanted, needed, to know what happened to the author’s cousin, and partly because I needed to be reminded of the importance of remembering.

Highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books and Meryl Frank for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC. It was my privilege.

A fascinating and well researched book. Written in a conversational style and structured in a way that highlights the mystery of Frank’s search for information about her murdered family members, it is a compelling, if harrowing, read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC ebook for my review.

I was privileged to read this book via NetGalley. I found it very interesting. Her journey to find out about her actress relative was very engrossing. The book started slowly for my taste but I was hooked quickly and wanted to know more about her relative. I also enjoyed the extended end notes with other areas to explore. If you are interested in the Holocaust this is a must-read. This is part memoir and part mystery.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

Thank you @merylfrank, @netgalley, and @hachettebooks for the gifted e-arc of UNEARTHED: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust

📅: April 11, 2023

I finished this memoir last Thursday, and I am still finding the words to review Meryl Frank’s memoir, which was a manefestation of the search for the truth about her family, heritage, and inter-generational trauma that has usurped her life.

As I began reading her memoir, I kept on thinking about my own research and desire to find and learn more about my family’s history especially during the horrors of the Partition. How were they affected? What happened to them? Why won’t they speak about their experiences to me? As I finished this, I also thought of the books I am concurrently reading, Independence and Brotherless Nights.

Like me, Meryl, too faced similar difficulties. But, her link to her past was her aunt Mollie who is her resource to everything related to her extended family’s stories of horror, hope, survival, and resistance during the Holocaust. However, Mollie informs Meryl that she is forbidden to read the book but preserve it, and makes it her last wish. Driven by the search for the truth, Frank sets out on a journey to learn about her cousin, Franya, a popular Yiddish theatre actress who was a blossoming star at the height of the 1920s-30s before the rise of Third Reich. Through Meryl’s exhaustive research, we learn of the atrocities that occurred in Lithuania. Frank’s unflinching research will also transport the reader as if we are accompanying the journey with her as she seeks the truth about Franya, and learns about her extended family and their fate along the way.

One of the most outstanding gems that she found on her research was called the Paper Brigade of Vilma, which speaks to what Frank calls “the endurance of culture.” This particular moment among others hit me hard, and made me wonder if there were such efforts taken to preserve historical documents that may one day tell the story of the everyday people. Another powerful moment that remains in my mind is when a railway man trespasses into an old building in France slated to be demolished, and finds Franya and others photos hidden in the attic. He chooses to save them until he is ready to donate them to the museum, and ultimately cultivate a relationship with Meryl.

As a reader, I followed Meryl’s research daily, and was so attached to Franya, and Meryl’s journey to become a memoir writer, I had to stop reading and take time before I could face the truth of what happened to her relative, Franya. This memoir is now part of an important canon including Maus, The Girl Who Smiled Beads, and The Choice.

A moving and fascinating journey through the author's family history, Unearthed is Meryl Frank's account of her search for family lost to the Holocaust, specifically her cousin, Franya Winter. Winter was an avant-garde actress in the Yiddish theater, and Frank is fascinated by photos of her charismatic relative. She goes on a years-long search for more details about Winter's life and death, and finds friends and fellow searchers along the way. Recommended for those interested in family history stories and Holocaust histories, especially those focused on Eastern European Jewish history.

“Unearthed” is a non-fiction book by Meryl Frank. This book is very much, I would say, a love letter to Ms. Frank’s present and future family - and all those who have family destroyed by the Holocaust. Ms. Frank explains how she came about hearing about a relative who didn’t survive the Holocaust and how, as an adult, she decided to do more digging. As with anyone who has done genealogy research, Ms. Frank explains what she was told and how it matched (or didn’t match) records and how through some luck, some digging, and some help from outsiders she discovered what happened to her family. I knew a little about Yiddish theatre (granted with a UK slant) before reading this book, but for those who don’t know much about it, Ms. Frank explains what it was and how it differs from “traditional” theatre. At it’s heart, this book is obviously deeply personal to Ms. Frank and she should be proud to have documented not only her journey of exploration, but also uncovering what happened to her family members. My one complaint is that except for the front cover, there weren’t any photos in the e-ARC I received - I would’ve loved to have seen a reproduction of one of the posters or a family photo just to get a better idea of how mesmerizing Ms. Frank’s relative was.

I received an ARC of “Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust” from NetGalley and Hachette Books in exchange for an honest review.

I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down. Like Meryl Frank’s family, there has always been things that were not spoken of in my family. I’ve always called them *the family secrets*, but until I read Frank’s book, I realize now that those so-called secrets were just silence; silence born of trauma.

“Unearthed…” is more than just a book about the past. It’s about the present. Bit-by-bit, piece-by-piece, Frank slowly unravels the mysteries at the heart of the book by taking readers onto a journey spanning several decades and around the globe. But she does more than that by extrapolating the past onto the present political milieu, revealing how the human ability to forget, to remain silent, and to lessen the Holocaust affects how we deal with atrocities even today.

I admit that I knew next to nothing about Yiddish theater. Sure, I am familiar with a few writers, but I never knew anything about the actors, set designers, and etc., that played such an important role, either pre-war or during WWII.

This was an amazing book. It read like a mystery. And I have to give it to Frank, there is *no way* that I would have been able to hold onto a book and not read it…ESPECIALLY if someone told me not to. Frank’s ability at self-constraint if far above admirable.

I really recommend this book to everyone. The author is able to seamlessly tie the past with current events so clearly that it’s startling. I hope that this book will appear in libraries across the nation, and that the book will be translated into a variety of different languages, particularly in Lithuanian (and hopefully Yiddish as well!).

Wow! I could not put this book down. The author really makes the people and places come to life on the page. I’ve already recommended this book to several friends and family members.

I am not usually a non-fiction reader, but this was a great book. I could feel the emotion that the author put into their writing and research, which I greatly appreciated.