Buried Rivers: A Spiritual Journey into the Holocaust

by Ellen Korman Mains

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Author: Ellen Korman Mains

Publisher: West Lake Books

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 164184017X
ISBN 13: 978-1641840170

Winner of 4 Book Awards including: 2018 SILVER NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD, 2019 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARD BRONZE MEDAL, 2019 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARD FINALIST, and 2019 BEST BOOK AWARD FINALIST
“ . . . provides a fresh take not only on the Holocaust, but also the proper response to the seemingly inerasable stain left by profound anguish . . . A moving and original contribution to an inexhaustible body of literature.” —Kirkus Reviews
To the chagrin of her parents, Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust, the author became a Buddhist at the age of 19. More than three decades later, on a German train, Ellen felt the presence of spirits who had died in the Holocaust and had lost their trust in basic goodness. Sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, their plea for help sent her on a series of life-changing journeys to Poland to reconcile the Holocaust with basic goodness. Would years of Buddhist meditation prove helpful to her people instead of a betrayal?
In 2006, she travels to Poland, the Holocaust’s largest graveyard, and to her mother’s city of Łódź, to reconnect with her family's tragic history and later moves to Łódź to study Polish at a language school called “Babel,” where she is the sole American. With no living elders to consult, she relies on an account dictated by her uncle, an Auschwitz survivor, for clues to her family’s past. As she retraces her mother’s and uncle’s steps through Europe and walks in places where her ancestors lived for centuries, she stumbles into a mysterious stream of love—if only she can receive it.
Increasingly aware of her own traumatic imprints, she realizes that helping the dead is inseparable from healing herself. And that opening to events previously hidden, and to the darkness we avoid, brings a transformation that widens our perception and changes us forever. Beyond recovering her family’s lost history, "Buried Rivers" reveals powerful connections between spirituality and trauma, Judaism and Buddhism, and intimately explores family loyalty, religious boundaries, and the invisible blessings of ancestors.

Review

"What sets this book apart from the many other heartfelt, analytical and hauntingly descriptive accounts of Holocaust historians and survivors is that into its fabric is woven a poignant record of many hours of meditative practice and introspection. This is the journey of a meditator." - Richard Reoch, from the Foreword

"A powerful testament to human resilience and courage, this book reflects the power of inquiry in a world riven with suffering, and the capacity to transform that suffering into wisdom." - Rev. Joan Jiko Halifax, Upaya Zen Center, author of Standing at the Edge

"Revealing how the past, present, and future intersect in the very cells of our bodies, Buried Rivers shows how we can more fully discover spiritual truth and personal healing through the conscious meeting of our ancestors as they appear to us in the here and now." - Zvi Ish-Shalom, Ph.D., author of The Kedumah Experience: The Primordial Torah

"Part memoir, part spiritual chronicle, Buried Rivers takes the reader on a journey into our most pressing real-life questions about good and evil. This Buddhist reflection on the intimate legacy of the Holocaust is a riveting page-turner." - Judith Simmer-Brown, Ph.D., author of Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism

"A rich prose journey into the author's ancestral homeland . . . A beautiful and important memoir that uplifts as much as it compels." - Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, PhD, author of With Roots in Heaven

"By shedding light on something so dark, she demonstrates that healing, opportunity, and magic can emerge from the densest suffering." - Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, author of The Logic of Faith

"An intimate and illuminating memoir that depicts how trusting in the spontaneous wisdom of one's own body and heart can heal intergenerational trauma." - David I. Rome, author of Your Body Knows the Answer

"Read this and be prepared to think about your own ancestors in a new way." - Sonya Huber, author of Opa Nobody

About the Author

Ellen Korman Mains was trained by the late Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and has taught and led meditation retreats in North America and Europe. A former instructor of the Japanese art of Kyudo (Zen Archery) at Naropa University, she is devoted to exploring the universality of spiritual principles and guiding individuals in cultivating compassionate self-awareness. Born and educated in Montreal, she spends the majority of her time in Boulder, Colorado, but travels frequently to Poland to engage with her personal family history while forging new friendships, teaching, and promoting dialog.

Richard Reoch has devoted his working life to the international defense of human rights, peace, and environmental protection. He is the former president of Shambhala, the worldwide community dedicated to the Buddha's teachings on enlightened society.

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Buried Rivers: A Spiritual Journey into the Holocaust