My Long Life - Esther Erika Simons

My Long Life - Esther Erika SimonsEsther was a curly top toddler when her mother gave her a cuddle and whispered to her, "You have to go with your new Mummy now. Be good." Instantly, Esther went from a lively 18 month old to a very sad child. She cried occasionally but didn't speak, until one day at the age of two when she saw her new Mummy hugging her own seven year old son. Then Esther said her very first words. They were "Love me too." This is Esther's story from her miraculous

Esther was a curly-top toddler when her mother gave her a cuddle and whispered to her, "You have to go with your new Mummy now. Be good." Instantly, Esther went from a lively 18-month old to a very sad child. She cried occasionally but didn't speak, until one day at the age of two when she saw her new Mummy hugging her own seven year old son. Then Esther said her very first words. They were "Love me too."

This is Esther's story from her miraculous escape from annihilation, through a life when , even as a child, she knew that saying the wrong thing to the wrong person might get her family killed, and through her trek from Hungary to Australia with nothing but a small backpack. This is a story of escape and leaving the past behind. It is a story of loss, pain and failure but also of hope and achievement.

Esther's story is the story of an immigrant to Australia, of the difficulties and obstacles but also of the possibilities. Above all it is about finding contentment and happiness by looking within. The ending might surprise you.

Published Sydney Jewish Museum.

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