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Surviving the Survivor
A Brutally Honest Conversation about Life (& Death) with My Mom: A Holocaust Survivor, Therapist & My Podcast Co-Host
Published by Post Hill Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Featured in the Times of Israel
Holocaust survivor and licensed therapist Karmela Waldman shares brutally honest advice about life and death—often deploying brutally sharp wit—with her son and podcast co-host, Joel Waldman.
Karmela Waldman is an eighty-something psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor. Her son, Joel Waldman, is a successful broadcast journalist. After a discontented Joel chooses to leave his network-news job, he gets a crazy idea for the next step in his career: What if he and his elderly mom did a podcast together?
The two embark on creating a show together and name it Surviving the Survivor. Things get off to a bumpy start as the lovingly dysfunctional mother-son duo struggle to figure out the art of podcasting on the fly—sometimes feuding, sometimes laughing, and finally mastering the format and watching Surviving the Survivor break out as a wildly popular true-crime hit.
Along the way, the two discover things about each other that they never knew. Joel is stunned to learn that Karmela survived World War II by hiding in a boys’ Catholic school. Karmela also sheds light on the emotional struggles she endured when Joel’s older brother, Rami, died of an incurable illness. She’s also struggling with the inevitable loss of her husband of sixty-three years, which she describes as the most difficult experience of her life.
Mastering podcasting is one thing; figuring out the meaning of life is a challenge of an entirely different order. In real time and “on air,” mother and son engage frankly and movingly with each other for the first time as adults, discussing child-rearing, aging, illness, death, and the secrets to enjoying life no matter how complicated it gets.
Holocaust survivor and licensed therapist Karmela Waldman shares brutally honest advice about life and death—often deploying brutally sharp wit—with her son and podcast co-host, Joel Waldman.
Karmela Waldman is an eighty-something psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor. Her son, Joel Waldman, is a successful broadcast journalist. After a discontented Joel chooses to leave his network-news job, he gets a crazy idea for the next step in his career: What if he and his elderly mom did a podcast together?
The two embark on creating a show together and name it Surviving the Survivor. Things get off to a bumpy start as the lovingly dysfunctional mother-son duo struggle to figure out the art of podcasting on the fly—sometimes feuding, sometimes laughing, and finally mastering the format and watching Surviving the Survivor break out as a wildly popular true-crime hit.
Along the way, the two discover things about each other that they never knew. Joel is stunned to learn that Karmela survived World War II by hiding in a boys’ Catholic school. Karmela also sheds light on the emotional struggles she endured when Joel’s older brother, Rami, died of an incurable illness. She’s also struggling with the inevitable loss of her husband of sixty-three years, which she describes as the most difficult experience of her life.
Mastering podcasting is one thing; figuring out the meaning of life is a challenge of an entirely different order. In real time and “on air,” mother and son engage frankly and movingly with each other for the first time as adults, discussing child-rearing, aging, illness, death, and the secrets to enjoying life no matter how complicated it gets.
Product Details
- Publisher: Post Hill Press (August 14, 2024)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9798888452387
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Raves and Reviews
“Karmela’s story is moving and inspirational, and one every young person should be reminded of.”
– Mitch Albom, Author of The Little Liar
“What makes a story interesting is the person telling the story…and while many people are talking about true crime these days…no one is doing it quite like Karmela and Joel Waldman. That’s because of the story behind these storytellers…and that, my friends, is a story worth reading!”
– Vinnie Politan, Court TV Lead Anchor
“Their story is more than just a tale of survival; it’s a beacon of hope and a reminder of the enduring strength found in the bonds of family, and in the courage to face life’s challenges head-on. Karmela Waldman, like the tiger, is indeed an endangered species—rare, awe-inspiring, and an emblem of resilience in a world that often demands it.”
– Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. In these troubling times, the insights of Surviving the Survivor offer all of us important wisdom and lessons for a better future.”
– Dr. Avi Loeb, Harvard Professor and Bestselling Author of Extraterrestrial and Interstellar
“Joel Waldman and Karmela Waldman have written a compelling hit based on their genuine, on-air conversations—frank, moving, and transformative. As they navigate the uncharted waters of podcasting, Surviving the Survivor goes beyond the microphone, inviting readers into the unfiltered world of a mother and son as they unravel the mysteries of their shared past and navigate the profound questions that shape the human experience.”
– Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, Boston College Connell School of Nursing, Named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, and Bestselling Author of A Killer by Design
“Joel and Karmela Waldman’s lively podcast Surviving the Survivor has become a must-watch for followers of true crime.”
– Dennis Murphy, Dateline NBC’s Correspondent and Winner of Four National Emmy Awards
“As a Catholic I love that Karm survived WWII by hiding out in a Catholic school; as a comedian I love the humor in this book that by any rights shouldn't be this funny, and as someone who is currently alive, but one day will not be, I loved Surviving the Survivor.”
– Comedian J-L Cauvin, Actor, Showtime’s Billions
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Surviving the Survivor Trade Paperback 9798888452387
