Zhou Wenjing

Why War? Zhou Wenjing

Mead-Hill is proud to present Ruth Barnett's moving memoir of pre-War Berlin, a tale in part, of her move to Germany in 1939 as part of the Kindertransport. Additionally, the memoir notes her subsequent growing up on a on a farm in England where she was blissfully happy working with animals. But the overall tale is decidedly darker than this...

Significant sections of Ms. Barnett's book present notice of the deterioration of life in pre-War Berlin, the difficulties her family faced in being forced to separate, her father's trek to Shanghai where he survived the War, and most troubling - the impossibility Ruth faced after the War in having to reconnect with parents whom she had not seen in 10 years.

Also Ms. Barnett presents - in an entirely unique style, drawn from dramatic writing - the unique obstacles encountered by her father (who had been a highly-respected judge before the War), when he tried to reestablish a post-War professional career.

And finally, Ruth challenges readers to think more deeply about war, about issues of discrimination and genocide, encouraging them to move from being passive bystanders to active up-standers. Noting along the way how she sees the human race as one great organism, each of us but a single one of its cells, she wonders how, when looking within, so many of us choose to nurture our demons instead of celebrating our angels.

Mead-Hill website: www.mead-hill.com