Pamela Goldstein’s work as a nurse led to her involvement with survivors of the Holocaust.
That has led her to document her experiences and share the survivors’ stories in a new book.
“Still the Soul Survives – A Journey of Compassion, Memory and Self-Discovery” was recently released and relays stories from Goldstein’s career. The book outlines the survivors, how they overcame the horror they went through and what their lives were like in the years since.
“No one talks about how they survived,” she said. “Most are hypervigilant against any kind of racism or hatred.”
Goldstein recalled Windsor having the largest and best cancer treatment sector in the world in 1972 where doctors came from around the globe.
“We set all sorts of protocols. At the same time, people who were Holocaust survivors and people given experimental drugs came for cancer treatments.”
That is where she learned a lot about the Holocaust, she said.
“I was absolutely appalled when I heard the first story,” said Goldstein.
People would come from Windsor, Detroit and from around the world to be treated.
“When you work chemo, you become good friends with all of your patients,” she said. “They come back on a regular basis.”
Goldstein would convert to Judaism, only to find out later she had some in her ancestry. Learning the stories of the Holocaust survivors and their wishes they be shared led to an original manuscript of 300,000 words. It would eventually be pared down, as a manuscript is generally in the 85,000-95,000 word range. She pointed out she altered some of the names of people involved in order to protect their families, but kept the stories as intact as possible.
Having the experiences of the Holocaust shared with her sparked her activism, as she joined marches and protests against racism and hatred. She said some of the people she worked with were in well-known marches, with one person being in very close proximity to Martin Luther King Jr. during the march in Selma.
Goldstein noted the original draft was written a few decades ago and revisited about five years ago. Other books are planned, but “this one by far is the most important.”
Published by Unbreakable Bindings, the book shares the terror they went through but Goldstein also wanted to convey the triumph of overcoming what they went through. She said while some people may have thought writing the book would be cathartic, it was not.
“It was really hard. I would have to walk away for a while,” she said. “Some of it was really hard to write. It’s like re-living it again – all that horror.”
Feedback has been positive, Goldstein said, including hearing from a nurse practitioner that could relate to what was in the book.
“They are extraordinary people,” said Goldstein, of the survivors. She added she doesn’t know if she would have had the strength to survive what they did.
The overriding theme is they made life matter and changed the world to make it a better place.
“Still the Soul Survives” is available through Amazon for $26.90. More information on the 345-page book and Goldstein herself is available through www.pamelagoldstein.com.
Local nurse tells stories of Holocaust survivors in new book
By Ron Giofu
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