Victories of Soul and Spirit
Photo Credit: By David Shankbone (Own work) CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Several years ago, when I was putting my first book together, I came upon this quote by Elie Wiesel , "I write to understand as much as to be understood." Those words captured, for me, exactly why I write. Today, as I opened the BBC News page, I learned that this great human, who inspired so many and lived his life as an advocate for those oppressed by hate, had died. Suddenly, the brilliance of this morning's light dimmed for me. With mixed emotions, I spent time pondering the life of this gentle man. Like a beloved grandfather, he ha d given me so many lessons to learn and ponder with his writings , his work and his life. I g i ve thanks that he survived the horrors of the Holocaust, thereby, becoming a living example of hope and tenacity . I mourn him as if he were a dear relative, for truly, he was someone who had influenced my life more than some of those blood rela...