A Belated Note for VE Day: Uncle Emile, the Ritchie Boy Who Helped Save Us All

Note: I’m sharing this on both my genealogy blog and the site for Nothing Really Bad Will Happen, since it ties into the true family history that inspired the novel. Emile Speeger - In front of Eva Braun's house - 1946 May 8, 1945—Victory in Europe Day. For millions around the world, it was a … Continue reading A Belated Note for VE Day: Uncle Emile, the Ritchie Boy Who Helped Save Us All →

When AI Crosses a Line: A Lesson from a Steerage Scene That Looked All Too Familiar

Posted by Deborah Samuel Holman, Author of Nothing Really Bad Will Happen and the upcoming children’s version inspired by it NOTE: This post also appears on my family history and author blogs—because it touches all three worlds. When I began adapting my adult novel Nothing Really Bad Will Happen into a version for my 6-year-old … Continue reading When AI Crosses a Line: A Lesson from a Steerage Scene That Looked All Too Familiar →

Preserving History: A Holocaust Remembrance Display at Woodbury Public Library

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed each year on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. This day honors the memory of the six million Jews and millions of others who were victims of the Holocaust. It serves as a reminder of the dangers of hatred, … Continue reading Preserving History: A Holocaust Remembrance Display at Woodbury Public Library →

Celebrating a Special Recognition for “Nothing Really Bad Will Happen”

I just received the Winter issue of CT Genealogy News, the quarterly publication of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists (CSG). I knew it would feature an article about my being the 2024 recipient of the Richard G. Tomlinson Literary Award for my novel, Nothing Really Bad Will Happen, but I wasn’t expecting such a glowing … Continue reading Celebrating a Special Recognition for “Nothing Really Bad Will Happen” →

“Thank God”—You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!

Today I finally dedicated some time to updating the website. As I was adding recent pictures of my mother's childhood home at Silbergasse 43 in Vienna, Austria, I giggled as I recalled that day in 2018 when my sister Jeanne and I brazenly tossed our mother's cremains through the gate onto some lush green bushes. … Continue reading “Thank God”—You Can’t Make This Stuff Up! →

The Importance of Telling the Stories

https://picryl.com/media/statelibqld-1-170591-serpa-pinto-ship-75dbbe Friday night we watched the PBS show, U.S. and the Holocaust: Insight and Understanding. Having seen the original three-part series when it first aired, I found it enormously educational and emotional, especially with the inclusion of a clip of the Serpa Pinto, the converted freighter my paternal great-grandparents sailed on to the U.S. in … Continue reading The Importance of Telling the Stories →

I Didn’t Really Think This Through…

"Unintended Consequences"Outcomes or effects of actions or decisions that are not anticipated or intended by those who initiated them. These consequences may be positive, negative, or neutral and can occur in various contexts, such as social policies, technological advancements, or personal choices. They often emerge as a result of complex interactions within systems, and they … Continue reading I Didn’t Really Think This Through… →