With Just One Suitcase

'Like many adult children of first generation Australians, I have grown to appreciate more deeply the momentous decision made by my parents in leaving their homes, their families and everything familiar to come to a new land. I believe Australia has benefited in so many ways from the trust and optimism of those who migrated to our shores. Our richness as a migrant nation endures through the stories of our forebears, told and retold to new generations. This is one such story among many that make us who we are today.' - Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development. ""Cheryl Koenig's embrace of life shines through in earlier books, such as Paper Cranes. 'With Just One Suitcase' is the backstory to her achievements. Where do those with great courage and wherewithal get it from? From those who raised them, loved them, willed them to open their hearts to life. This story of the struggle of grandparents and parents in war-torn Europe leads us movingly to trials of a different sort in Australia. Cheryl Koenig's message is that we are always more than one person. We are ourselves, and also the dreams and hopes of those who have loved us."" - Robert Hillman, award-winning biographer and fiction writer ""An excellent story splendidly told."" - Annabel Lawson, Books Editor, Country Style ""Cheryl Koenig is to be congratulated. She has written a masterpiece. With great skill Cheryl has written an immensely readable, gripping biography documenting daily life in a crazed world. The story begins with a thumbnail sketch of life in semi- rural Romania at the outbreak of the second world war and moves on to relate the experiences, in that country, of her then youthful father and father-in-law. Many years later, in Sydney, they chance to be reunited when Cheryl nervously introduces her father to the father of her future husband. The writing is powerful, in the first person, giving the reader a fly-on-the-wall feeling of being there. Having thoroughly researched the period Cheryl is able to construe the hitherto unknown Romanian perspective with great credibility, and, as if they hadn't already suffered enough, she goes on to relate how these amazing young men had the courage and strength to take flight and start a new life in this far flung land. That they survived at all is a miracle."" - Sylvia Levi, Goodreads reviewer