Miriam

Miriam is a story that explores the impact of bequeathed memories and experiences on identity, behaviour and attitudes. It charts the life of a daughter of Holocaust survivor parents as she comes to grips with her parents' past and the constraints it applies to her living her life freely and without recrimination. It highlights post Holocaust attitudes and a state of mind that so often inhibits the milieu of her parents and their friends, who owe their outlook and perception of the world, to their struggle for survival. In the shadow of the shambles of their lives, Miriam seeks joy, romance and a fresh beginning, but to do so, she first needs to understand who she is and what comprises her cultural identity. It is not a story of the Holocaust per se but primarily a story of discovery - from despair to enlightenment, romance and freedom, as Miriam strikes out in new relationships and experiences that feed her quest. The story is an emotional roller-coaster ride encompassing sadness and humour, forever thoughtful, informative and often philosophical, as it takes the reader on Miriam's journey.

The author was born in Sydney, Australia in 1948, graduating from Sydney University in 1970 with an Honours degree in Asian and European histories and a major in Political Science. He moved to Melbourne in 1971 where he married and has two children and two grandchildren. There, he came face to face with the close-knit, vibrant, Jewish Holocaust community, the experience of which compelled him to write this story. He has had a diverse employment career, spanning the public and private sectors working in the field of industrial relations and in the development and advocacy of public policy, retiring in 2006 as a director of the Australia Business Arts Foundation. This is his first novel.