Remember Us to Life

Remember Us to Life is a graphic memoir by Joanna Rubin Dranger. She is a descendant of Holocaust survivors as well as from ancestors who fled Germany and Russia in time to save themselves from danger. The story was written in Swedish and translated into English by Maura Tavares. The title of the book comes from a prayer recited every day from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur. The English translation of the book was published in 2025. Author Dranger showcases her search for her own identity while she slowly uncovers the truth about how her Jewish relatives "disappeared" during WWII. She does this through illustrations and photographs of documents on her relatives. Suffice to say this is an emotional story.

The publiaher's summary:  "Remember Us to Life recounts Joanna’s family’s immigration from Poland and Russia to Sweden and Israel, where her relatives found work, marriage, and community, blissfully unaware of the horrors to come. Interweaving these anecdotes and stories are historical accounts of the persecution of Jewish people in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia prior to and during World War II, as well as the antisemitic policies and actions of the supposedly neutral government of Sweden, Joanna’s home country. Joanna’s unflinchingly brave and intimate portrayal of one of history’s greatest tragedies will capture and break readers’ hearts."

Deciding how to review the book was difficult. There is no way I can give all the details presented by the author. Too many of them are poignant and I could not pick one over another to be discussed here. Frankly, there was poignancy on every page. I was surprised, though, that her Swedish relatives were counted and documented during WWII by the Swedish government. Some of these documents were discovered in the 1970s and the rest were found in the 1990s. Anti-semitic epitaphs were hurled at them even though they lived in Sweden. With Sweden advertising their liberal ideas and trying to transport them out of their country, I was surprised to read how they actually behaved. 

The memoir began with the birth of the author's favorite aunt Susanne. Susanne was born after the end of WWII but she felt all the horror of the war anyway. Susanne ended up committing suicide. The author stated that she too felt a darkness that she could not control. She developed an intense contempt for herself and she thinks that she carried a hatred of Nazism within herself. I found this surprising because the author was born a few generations after the Holocaust.

The book is an eye opening account of one family’s attempt to overcome the past. Snippets of the actions of foreign governments is interspersed throughout the book adding to the horror of the era. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars and think this will be my book of the year for 2026. Remember Us to Life is a must read.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana is a memoir about journalist Gayle Lemmon's trips to Kabul, Afghanistan looking for stories about women living in war torn countries. Lemmon writes articles for the Financial Times. In this book she centers on Kamila Sidiqi who ran her own business during the reign of the Taliban in the mid 1990s. 

After graduating from a two year teaching program at Sayed Jamaluddin Teacher Training Institute, Kamila heard whispers concerning the Taliban being close to Kabul and would most likely overun Kabul by the next day. Kamila hurried to catch a bus for long bus ride that would take her to her family’s home in the neighborhood of Khair Khana, a northern suburb of Kabul. The Taliban did reach Kabul the next day and Kamila's graduation certificate was no longer useful as the Taliban forbid women from leaving their homes. Kamila's father and brother fled the city before they arrived so she was responsible for taking care of her family. Unable to teach and desperate to support her family, Kamila masters the art of dressmaking and passes on the skills to her younger sisters. In order to find work for the budding business, Kamila frequently makes the dangerous trek to the market and meets with the owners of local dress shops. Soon the business is growing, and Kamila sees an opportunity to help other women in her community. With the help of her sisters, she opens a tailoring school in their home to teach women how to sew and to give them work once they completed their training. At a time of almost insurmountable poverty, she is able to employ nearly one hundred of her friends and neighbors, all the while escaping the scrutiny of the Taliban.

Kamila is an inspiring lady. She makes me look lazy. The author hopes that her book will change the tradition of portraying women as victims of war and pitied. Instead Lemmon believes that they are survivors of war whose bravery and determination held their families and communities together. This is a true story and yet it reads like a novel. I had to check twice to see if this book was historical fiction or a memoir. It’s a memoir. Lemmon made many trips to Kabul over a three-year period to interview women. 

I loved this book. It is an uplifting story of the brave women of Afghanistan who eked out a life under the most horrific circumstances. It gives me hope that I can handle anything that life throws my way. 5 out of 5 stars.

Memoir Reading Challenge 2026

This is another challenge that I haven't participated in for awhile. I am signing up again because I have seen advertisements for memoirs that look interesting to me. I am expecting that I will only read the minimum 5 memoirs to finish the challenge. There are 34 categories of memoirs listed below. This challenge is hosted by Jamie at the Whatever I Think Of blog.

Rules:

1. To participate, you must read a minimum of five memoirs from any of the categories listed. One book can only count for one category. 

2. Re-reads are acceptable. 

3. All book formats count. 

4. Books must be read on or after January 1, 2026 to count.

5. Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

6. Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating. 

7. Books must be labeled as memoirs to count. 

8. You do not need a blog to sign up. You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge. Or sign up on Youtube, Facebook, X, or Bluesky. Sign up below in the comments of the challenge post.

Here are the categories:

Mental Illness Memoir: 

Other Illness Memoir:

Political Memoir:  

Food Memoir: 

Animal Memoir: 

Music Memoir: 

Travel Memoir:

Written by a person of color: 

Written by a woman: 

Written by a person who identifies as LGBTQIA: 

Written by an actor or a comedian: 

Written by an author or journalist: 

Written by any other celebrity:

Written by someone under 40: 

Written by someone over 40: 

Written by someone from a country different from your own: 

 One you find thought-provoking: 

 Made into a movie: 

 Graphic novel memoir: 

 Bestselling memoir: 

 Humorous memoir: 

 Fictional memoir: 

 In translation:

 Won an award: 

 Published in 2026: 

 Published in 2025 or earlier: 

 Under 300 pages: 

 Over 300 pages: 

 One you want to re-read: 

 On a favorite topic: 

 By a favorite celebrity: 

 Free choice: 

 Free choice: 

 Free choice:

If you need reading ideas, here are some links to get started:

Goodreads: Best Memoir/Autobiography

Goodreads: Memoirs by Women 

B&N 50 Essential Memoirs