Two Worlds
A Family Memoir about the Holocaust, Intermarriage and Love
by
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Making It Work
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“I can tell something is wrong. Tell me.”
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Patty, stop acting like your dad.”
“I am not acting like my dad.”
“Yes you are, and you know it. You haven’t said two words to me since I got home. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just not in a talkative mood.”
“I’m not going to stop until you tell me.”
“OK, already. It’s this house. Look at this house. Not one decoration and it’s the holidays. It’s so damn depressing.”
“I didn’t know you felt so strongly about decorations.”
“I didn’t say anything because I know how you feel about them.”
“We could have Hanukah decorations.”
“Those cheap paper things? I’d rather have nothing.”
“What do you want?”
“Lights. Some kind of lights. It’s so depressing around the holidays without lights.”
“Could they be white and blue? Hanukah colors.”
“I don’t care if they’re pink and orange. I hate coming home to a dark house in December.”
“Hanukah is the Festival of Lights. I guess lights would be all right.”
“In our ficus tree?”
“I really don’t want a Hanukah bush.”
“OK. Around the fireplace and down the banister.”
“That would be all right.”
“And maybe a few evergreen garlands to wrap the lights around. I could tie them up with ribbons. All in blue and white.”
“I could live with that.”
“I’ll go shopping at lunch tomorrow.”
“Patty, I wish you would just tell me when something is bothering you.”
“I know. I’m getting better.”
“Yeah, I only had to ask you five times rather than twenty.’’
“See.”
“Someday surprise me and just tell me something’s wrong.”
So the fireplace in our small house in
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About the Book
Part memoir, part family history, Two Worlds tells the story of Patricia J. Hruby’s Catholic childhood, her marriage to Ron, the son of Holocaust survivors, and their struggle to make their mixed marriage work. Their story is intertwined with the stories of Ron’s parents, his uncle and his grandmother, all of whom survived the Holocaust in different parts of
Midway through the book, all of the characters, including Patricia’s Catholic father, dance the hora, a traditional Jewish dance, at the young couple’s wedding. As layers of circling dancers surround Patricia and Ron, bobbing on chairs above the pulsing crowd, ethnic and religious barriers temporarily break down and the room is filled with love and celebration.
With great story telling and dialogue, Two Worlds brings to life the characters’ histories as well as their current lives, where the past continues to intrude in the form of food obsessions, assimilation fears, depression and varying beliefs in God. The book is judiciously interspersed with original letters, newspaper articles and family photos, hidden by Gentiles during the war.
About the Author
Patricia J. Hruby lives with her husband and two sons in