All But My Life Blog: Matt Joyce

The thing that stuck with me through the first part of this book was strength. Everyone had to stay strong, or risk being trampled over by the Germans. Gerda's family did a great job of trying to prepare Gerda for the hardships they knew lied ahead. When Gerda was standing at her window, head pressed against the glass, she intently pondered the aspect of death. It seemed like such an easy way to escape, and the fact that a family committed suicide together recently only made it more tempting. Her father picked up on this immediately, and made her promise not to do what she was thinking. She says on page 32, "in the years to come, when death seemed the only solution, I remembered that promise as my most sacred vow." Later on, a letter from Arthur told her that he knew Gerda was as brave as she promised. This small gesture, which took nothing more than ten seconds to write, wiped away all of Gerda's worries and troubles for at least the moment. Lastly, when Gerda and her mom had been separated, Gerda was at a definite low point. Her mom's last assuring words of, "Be strong!" certainly gave her an extra boost to withstand whatever stood in her way as the truck quickly drove off into the distance. Gerda was all on her own at this point, but she was equipped with the strength to survive.