Press Release for Carnival Girl

Here is a copy of the press release:

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

About to be Published: A Spiritual Awakening in Post-WWII Germany

1/27/12—Provo, Utah—German convert and immigrant Sonja Herbert announces the release of her memoir, Carnival Girl: Searching for God in the Aftermath of War.

Even for Post-WWII Germany, Sonja’s life was unusual. Readers will experience Germany through the eyes of one little girl, but from a very unusual point of view, since she was the young daughter of a Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust by hiding in a circus, and she grew up traveling the carnival circuit in a devastated Germany.

“The devastation and my mother’s stories of hiding from the Nazis seemed normal to me when I was little,” Herbert says. “But as I grew up a little, I realized that most Germans didn’t have to hide and most children do not live in traveling caravans. I was different, and that’s when I started to wonder what it would be like to live in a real house, like other children.”

Sonja had a spiritual experience at a very young age, but her mother who had turned agnostic disapproved of any signs of religiosity. “Nevertheless,” Sonja says, “I kept praying in secret. As I got older, I searched out the local churches in the towns we held our carnivals in.”

The reader experiences with Sonja the difficulties that arise as she grows up with seven people living in one small caravan. As a pre-teen, Sonja attends school in a different town every week or two, and the drunken burghers, celebrating their town’s yearly festivities, do not leave her happy to be part of the carnival. Her desire to leave the carnival grows as she gets older.

At fourteen, Sonja meets the Mormon missionaries, and against the disapproval and ridicule of her family, converts. “I knew that the only way I could live my new-found religion was to leave the carnival. Since that was impossible, I put it into God’s hands.”

Young Sonja traveled a long and unusual road to be able to live the Gospel instead of having to work the carnival every Sunday. With her, the readers will experience the guiding hand of God as she clings to her faith under the most difficult circumstances, and they will leave the story with their own testimonies strengthened.

Pre-order your copy of the book today from Amazon.com or DeseretBook.com or find out more information at germancarnivalgirl.com.

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About the Author:

Sonja eventually served an LDS mission, got married to an American soldier, and at twenty-four she immigrated to the United States. She received an MA in Language Acquisition from Brigham Young University, taught high school and ESL for many years, and is now a full time writer. A mother of six and grandmother of eleven, she resides in Provo, Utah.

Sonja’s writings have been published in many anthologies. Some of her stories are:

"A Lesson for a Son," and "Final Goodbyes,"  Patchwork Path: Dad's Bowtie, July 2009

"Schooled," Ask Me About My Divorce: Women Open Up About Moving On, June 2009

"Goodwill to Men," The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Experts' Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic September 2009

"Just a Small New Year's Resolution," Chickensoup for the Soul: My Resolutions, December 2008

"Letting the Light Shine," Christmas Traditions: True Stories that Celebrate the Spirit of the Season, November 2008

"A True Mother," Chicken Soup for the Soul: Divorce and Recovery: 101 Stories about Surviving and Thriving after Divorce, October 2008