Edith Eger: “I Go Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. I Don’t Camp There.”
This Week on the Book Dreams Podcast
Book Dreams is a podcast for everyone who loves books and misses English class. Co-hosted by Julie Sternberg and Eve Yohalem, Book Dreams releases new episodes every Thursday. Each episode explores book-related topics you can’t stop thinking about—whether you know it yet or not.
How do we find hope even in the most difficult of times? How do we thrive after experiencing trauma? This week on Book Dreams, Dr. Edith Eger—psychologist, Auschwitz survivor, and author of the New York Times bestseller The Choice: Embrace the Possible and The Gift: 12 Lessons to Change Your Life—talks with co-hosts Julie and Eve about how to escape the prison of victimhood, fight feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness through choice, and learn to turn hate into pity as we journey through uncertain times.
*
Eve: In your experience as a psychologist, what do you think is the most difficult mindset for people who have experienced trauma to overcome?
Dr. Eger: I have a problem with that word, overcoming. I don’t overcome. I’m reminded every day almost. I remember one day I went to Costco, and the caregiver told me to park my car in the back. And when I parked there, I noticed the barbed wire. Immediately I was in Auschwitz. Even today. However, I go through the valley of the shadow of death. I don’t camp there. In fact, I appreciate life even more.
__________________________________
To listen to the rest of the episode, as well as the whole archive of Book Dreams, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.
Dr. Edith Eger is an eminent psychologist and one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors old enough to remember life in the camps. Dr. Eger has worked with veterans, military personnel and victims of physical and mental trauma. In 2017 she published a memoir called The Choice, which told the story of her survival in the concentration camps, her escape, healing and journey to freedom. More recently, Edie published The Gift: 12 Lessons to Change Your Life.
