Hidden during the Holocaust, jailed during the Soviet occupation
of Hungary, Terry Goldstein Herskovits’s story is an epic one, spanning
not only the gruesome Nazi years, but also the cruel years of Stalin’s
rule over Hungary.
Toba (Terry), the seventh of twelve children, born in Kivjazd,
Czechoslovakia, migrated to Budapest, Hungary, when her sister’s tales
of its splendor beckoned to her. When the Nazis occupied Budapest
in 1944, they brought to an end Terry’s sweet and exciting teenage
years. Little in Terry’s life during the next ten years was sweet. On the
heels of the Nazis came the Communists and their highly restrictive
regime, during which time Terry was separated from her children and
imprisoned for three years.
Terry’s memoir, Once a Flower, Always a Flower, recounts her life
and her horrendous experiences in Eastern Europe. But readers also
learn about her wonderful life in the United States where, she, as loving
and protective Mamele, has nurtured children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren.
Terry’s courage, determination, and endurance through almost
insurmountable difficulties and hardships will remind readers of all
ages about what is important in life—family and freedom.