Under the Same Roof by Mark Henry Kinn

Under the Same Roof is the story of Dr. Mark Henry Kinns life as the child of Holocaust survivors. In a sensitive and compelling way, he illustrates the complex influences of the Holocaust: his fear of his fathers anger, his conflicted feelings about religiosity, his guilt (for having a better and easier life than his parents) and the poignancy of his parents will to live. In some families, the horrors of the Holocaust are repeatedly dissected. In Dr. Kinns family, they were rarely discussed. My mother wanted to move on. My father wanted to preserve his memories of the shtetl. They didnt want to traumatize us during our childhood, so they rarely spoke of their experiences. But they were our parents and they went through something unspeakably horrible, unimaginably evil. And we knew. Under the Same Roof is a memoir about the insidious and unrelenting influence of the Holocaust. It quietly illustrates how the scars of brutality and loss can color every action and twist the perception of every failure and triumph. Rather than an explicit story of war or trauma, Under the Same Roof describes how both shaped the life of a brilliant and empathetic son. For those who share a legacy of extreme suffering, ever-present fear and anxiety, this story will ring true. Anyone who seeks to understand the deep and often hidden consequences of intergenerational trauma will find Dr. Kinns story an insightful read.