Structure

The main body of the narrative is structured in four parts, each of which is defined by a particular phase in the life and experiences of the book’s author, Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eva Eger. Those experiences are, for the most part, recounted chronologically, or in the order in which they happened. Thus, Part I focuses on her childhood, teenaged years, and experiences in Auschwitz, and Part II then focuses on her experiences in the years immediately after her release from imprisonment and immediately prior to her immigration to the United States. Part III recounts the author’s life from her arrival in the United States in 1949 through to her return to Auschwitz as a visitor in the early 1980’s. Finally, the narrative in Part IV begins with Dr. Eger’s considerations of her life after her return from Auschwitz, and considers her continued recovery within...