From the Danube to the Hudson

In Katherine Griesz’ debut memoir, From The Danube To The Hudson, the Hungarian born author and Forest Hills resident, tells the riveting story of survival during the Holocaust and, later on, Communist rule in Hungary.

The memoir, which was decades in the making, begins with how Griesz’ family began, with the first meeting of her parents, Ignatious and Magda.

The 482-page labor of love takes the reader on a journey from the very opening chapter; the story weaves a beautiful tapestry of characters and events. The story moves through the 1930s, with Griesz’ childhood on the eve of World War II, when she was just eight years old. Tales of love and loss and divorce are explored, as are death and the struggle to survive.

In this solid, decades-spanning memoir, Griesz presents, in eight parts that contain 36 chapters, characters that are three-dimensional and brought to life so well because she remembers everything with such vivid detail.

The reader will experience as she did, the horrors of the Holocaust in Budapest, loss of home, financial instability, followed by several brutal years of Communist rule and the world behind the Iron Curtain.

Eventually, our storyteller leaves Europe bound for other lands that include Australia and finally, America and the individual challenges that such a move presents.

From The Danube To The Hudson is a miraculous book that beautifully depicts the enduring struggle in the face of terrible odds.

-From the Queens Gazette