Surviving Remnant

Set in the deteriorating north end of Springfield, Massachusetts in the 1950s and early 60s, Surviving Remnant is Hanna Perlstein Marcus' sequel to her award-winning memoir, Sidonia's Thread. In Surviving Remnant, she recreates her childhood community of ambitious, humorous, and resilient immigrant refugees who occupy an apartment building, eager to adapt to their new homeland and build new lives for themselves and their children in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Within the backdrop of the acculturation of these new American residents, we meet the group of individuals and families who live, play, and work in their neighborhood. While deeply enmeshed in the everyday occurrences of her community, Marcus, as a child, is determined to find a suitable husband for her single mother and a benevolent father for herself among the available bachelors. Along the way, she becomes a fanatical Brooklyn Dodgers fan, a misguided violinist, a somnambulist, a neurotic, a hapless matchmaker, and noted fashion model for her mother's stunning designs. Marcus' experiences growing up with her mother in an enclave of Holocaust survivors portray a story no one knows-until now. Surviving Remnant is an authentic look at a poignant immigrant saga from deep inside.