Fern Schumer Chapman
"Motherland Beyond the Holocaust - A Mother/Daughter Journey to Reclaim the Past" is a non-fiction book that follows a young mother's pilgrimage into her family's history. Author Fern Schumer Chapman uneasily accompanies her mother, Edith, a Holocaust escapee, on a baffling visit to the German village her mother left at the age of 12. Edith, the youngest member of the town's only Jewish family, is sent alone and terrified to America to escape the Nazis. Nearly half a century later, mother and daughter return to the village and gradually realize that no one has escaped the shame, guilt and lingering scars of the war.
"Motherland" has received many honors, including:
- Illinois Author of the Year 2004 (Illinois Association of Teachers of English Award)
- Selection for one book/one community for “Quad Cities Reads” and “Racine Reads”
- Film rights optioned
- Finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards
- Featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
- Named a “Discover New Great Writers” title by Barnes & Noble
- German and Dutch editions available
Download the Teacher's Guide for Motherland at Ms. Chapman's website. Ms. Chapman gives presentations to classes and large school groups. Increasingly, teachers are using the book in the classroom to explore issues of fairness, identity and social justice.
Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Ms. Chapman's second book will be released in 2008. "Is It Night or Day?" is a YA book that captures Edith's immigration to America in 1938. Edith (the author's mother) was part of a small, little-known American rescue operation that saved about 1,000 children from the Nazis. Edith came to this country without her parents when she was only 12 years old.
Fern Schumer Chapman is a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune and
Forbes magazine. Her work also has appeared in the Washington Post, US
News & World Report, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal. A graduate
of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a master's degree from Northwestern
University's Medill School of Journalism, Ms. Chapman has taught writing
seminars at Northwestern University. Currently, she serves as the advisor
to the Lake Forest College newspaper.
Contact Information:
Email: fernschumer@aim.com
Website: http://www.fernschumerchapman.com
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