All but my Life: Chantell Jackson

“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself... 'How did I get through all of that?” This quote from an anonymous person is the best way I could really summarize what I learned from Gerda's book. Although there were times in her life where she said she didn't believe she would make it, and even contemplated ending her life, I never truly felt that Gerda completely lost all hope. I think of Gerda's hope as the family photos she carried around in her snow boots. Although she could not feel them, or see them, and no one knew they were there, they were, unseen but always there. Gerda's hope lied in her family, in Aurthur. She worked like a slave, nearly starved to death, and marched to the end of the war for them. When she realized she would never see them again her hope was not gone, but replaced. Her hope, and her life, now was in Kurt Klein. Gerda was frail, thin, and nearly dead when she was saved by him, but her soul was bigger than life itself. One thing I pick up on from Gerda was her soul. I believe her ability to love Kurt while she was in the hospital was the one thing that saved her life, her heart. Without it she would have died like the others did, for they were just as weak as she was, but Gerda had her soul, her desire, her will to live. I believe that’s what saved her. Kurt Klein did not only save her from the barn, he gave Gerda passion and strong will, without that Gerda would not have survived her illnesses. Kurt Klein saved his Wife’s life, no doctor, and no drug could have done what he did for her.