Esme Schwall

　　「The Choice是人道的禮物。屬於那些雋永不凡的故事，讓你不願闔上而將自此永遠改變。」–諾貝爾和平獎得主 戴斯蒙‧屠圖

    1944年，16歲的Edith Eger被送到奧斯威辛，身為一位匈牙利裔猶太人，她跟家人是戰爭結束前最後一批被送到集中營的受害者。在集中營中，Edith的父母不久即被送入毒氣室而過世；Edith則被命令為將雙親送入毒氣室的「死亡天使」醫師約瑟夫•門格勒（Josef Mengele）跳舞。當門格勒看完Edith的舞姿，獎勵了她一條麵包。Edith努力幫助妹妹存活下來，姐妹兩人被轉送至奧地利的毛特豪森-古森集中營，當營區終於被解放時，Edith在一堆屍體中被找到，奇蹟似地倖存生還。

　　身為走過集中營創傷的倖存者，Edith Eger並未讓自己被悲劇性的經歷擊垮，而是選擇就讀心理學，運用所學理論與親身生命經歷，成為享譽國際的心理學家與醫師─尤其專精於創傷後壓力症候群PTSD。她幫助了歷經戰場創傷的士兵們，與受虐的女性等等病患，讓他們也體認到，自己能夠成為一個跨越傷痛、堅毅而寬容諒解的靈魂。在這本感人的回憶錄中，Edith Eger娓娓道來她在大屠殺中的遭遇以及自那以來曾幫助過許多病患的動人故事。現今大多數人的心靈都禁錮在我們自己所創造出監獄，然而就如同Edith Eger想傳達的訊息：「你的苦痛並非無關緊要，它值得被治癒；而你也能選擇過一個快樂自由的生命。」

　　就像Viktor E. Frankl的《活出意義來》，The Choice是面對變化無常的生命之歌。暖如旭陽、深切的同情心與無盡智慧，這是一個深奧的人道精神檢驗，以及人類自癒能力的昇華。(文/博客來編譯)

　　A powerful, moving memoir—and a practical guide to healing—written by Dr. Edie Eger, an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor help her treat patients suffering from traumatic stress disorders.

　　Edith Eger was sixteen years old when the Nazis came to her hometown in Hungary and took her Jewish family to an interment center and then to Auschwitz. Her parents were sent to the gas chamber by Joseph Mengele soon after they arrived at the camp. Hours later Mengele watched Edie dance a waltz to the Blue Danube and rewarded her with a loaf of bread that she shared with her fellow prisoners. Edie and her sister survived Auschwitz, were transferred to the Mauthausen and Gunskirchen camps in Austria, and managed to live until the American troops liberated the camps in 1945.

　　One of the few living Holocaust survivors to remember the horrors of the camps, Edie has chosen to forgive her captors and find joy in her life every day. Years after she was liberated from the concentration camps Edie went back to college to study psychology. She combines her clinical knowledge and her own experiences with trauma to help others who have experienced traumatic events. Dr. Eger has counselled veterans suffering from PTSD, women who were abused, and many others who learned that they too, can choose to forgive, find resilience, and move forward.

　　The Choice weaves Edie’s personal story—from her early life in Hungary to her time in the concentration camps, her return to Hungary, journey from Europe to America, struggles to assimilate and to deal with the grief, shame, and loss she experienced—with case studies from her work as a psychologist. Her patients and their stories illustrate different phases of healing and show how people can choose to escape the prisons they construct in their minds and find freedom, regardless of circumstance. Edie’s story is an inspiration for everyone. And her message is powerful and important: “Your pain matters and is worth healing, you can choose to be joyful and free.”