In the tumultuous 1970s while women, African Americans, and the gay and lesbian communities march for equality, three sisters wrestle with the legacy of their family's Holocaust past. Memory's Shadow is a compelling story of sisterly conflict and loyalty, the broader politics of sisterhood, and the power of the human spirit to rise when faced with the unimaginable recurrence of tragedy.

Gail Benick is a professor in the humanities at Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Oakville, Ontario. Her teaching and research focus on immigration, diaspora and storytelling. Her work has appeared in Jewish Fiction. Net and the Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, among other publications.

Gail Benick's profile page

"Growing up in the 1950s and 60s the Berk sisters are united by love and divided by secrets. All of them live in memory's shadow, whether they know it or not. In this, Benick's second novel, they confront the polarizing events of the late 20th century, even as they grapple with the family's tragic past in the Lodz ghetto. Memory's Shadow is as spare as it is sweeping, taking in the minutiae of each sisters' life, as well as the enormous historical events that buffet them, revealing the different worlds inhabited by members of the same family, even as they share an inextricable bond. History does not stop for healing, and violence and injustice continue to cut through the Berk family's lives. In this multi-generational story of legacy and survivorship, there are no easy answers. All the characters must find their own forms of commemoration, their own paths to resiliency and hope."
-Maria Meindl, author of The Work and Outside the Box

"Memory's Shadow is a moving story that addresses the question of what makes and connects family. It is an emotional account of three sisters and their relationships, set in historical and cultural backgrounds carefully and effectively woven into each sister's journey. It is writing that can't help but prompt family reminiscing on a personal level for every reader."
-Cissy Lacks, author of Miriam's Way and a recipient of the PEN/Newman Award

"In Memory's Shadow, Gail Benick sensitively deals with a common feature in Holocaust survivor families - the inability to speak about their experiences. What makes this story unique is that two of the protagonists are child survivors of the Lodz ghetto, who, following their parents' example of silence, block a younger sister's questions. In journal entries, the author skillfully depicts the inner world of the three sisters and their fraught relationship. Only after suffering more loss, do the two survivor sisters learn that by accepting and integrating the memory of trauma, they can heal and pass on their family's history and legacy to the third generation."
&151;Renate Krakauer, author of Only by Blood

"Gail Benick's second novel, Memory's Shadow, is an earnest exploration of the bond between three sisters as they care for their aging father and struggle, each in a different way, with their family's Holocaust history. A heartfelt book about facing the past and building a future."
-Nora Gold, author of The Dead Man, Fields of Exile, and Marrow