Front Cover Back Cover |
A memoir by François Lecomte
Translated by Jacques P. Trocmé |
I have only a few hours left in the house
that was mine since I was born, to fill
myself with its soul and its warmth, with
everything that was my universe.
Suddenly I remember my birthday,
July 25, less than a month away. Never
in my young life have I celebrated my
birthday without them—him and her. I
ask for and demand their promise: “I’ll
never be fourteen years old unless you
are both with me.”
The happy childhood of François
Lecomte—born under the name Lévy—
ended when, because of persecution
of French Jews, he and his mother were
sent into hiding. François’s father was
arrested, and François ultimately became
one of the many children hidden in the
village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. After
the war, to his chagrin, his mother sent
him to a boarding school for three years.
They learned that Jean Lévy, his beloved
father, had perished in the gas chambers
of Auschwitz shortly after arriving there.
François tells his own story from babyhood
through adolescence with humour and
grace, and both style and content engage
the reader throughout.
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His adolescence cut short, François
slowly found the path of Remembrance
that would keep his father always with
him—continuing in the love of the arts
and music that they had shared. As an
adult, he cherished the love of his wife
and grandchildren and lived with “the
certainty that somewhere on this earth,
a new Martin Luther King will come
to ‘have a dream.’” (150)
* * * * Printable News Release |
Beach Lloyd Publishers, LLC, July 2009. softcover, 5.5 x 8.5 ins.;
190 pp. 31 black & white and full color illustrations: authentic documents,
archived and personal photos.
Suggested Discussion Topics for students and book groups.
References for Further Study.
ISBN 978-0-9819417-1-4 $19.95
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| I Will Never Be Fourteen Years Old: Le Chambon-sur-Lignon & My Second Life |
$19.95 |
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