About The Author
Where do forgiveness and kindness emanate from in someone who has experienced hate and exclusion?
Etya Vasserman Krichmar, a refugee of the Soviet Union, departed the life of “not enough” to come to the USA in 1978 with her husband and two-year-old daughter to seek freedom. Her struggles and stolen childhood stories are powerful, honest, and moving.
“Antisemitism followed me like a shadow everywhere I lived.” She writes of personal triumph in the face of adversity and life under a brutal totalitarian regime of the Communist Soviet Union, where religion was forbidden and punishable by law. Though born in Kazakhstan, the Soviets listed her nationality as Jewish, even though she was never allowed to have faith at all.
An optimistic soul who always sees the good in people. Etya is exceptionally kind. She has forgiven those who tried to crush her spirit. She feels compelled to share her story to help others recognize that antisemitism in America exists and that it has no place here. Her book, Living in Fear, Surviving Behind the Iron Curtain book combines descriptions of the historical events of World War TWO that her parents witnessed and personal recollections of trials and tribulations and how she lived as a Jewess under confinements of the Communist Party's totalitarian regime in a godless country of the Soviet Union.
At twenty-three, Etya Vasserman Krichmar, claiming religious discrimination, left the Soviet Union, the country of her birth, to seek freedom on the shores of the United States of America. Arriving in New York in 1978 with her husband and a two-year-old daughter, she began living without fear. To realize her American dream of providing a better life for her family, Etya needed to learn English and pursue her education. In January 1981, she graduated from Latin American Institute with cum-laude diploma. Two weeks later, she found employment with the Guardian Life Insurance Company. In 1995 she resigned as an Agency Finance Analyst and relocated to Florida.
The same year Etya became a Reiki master and volunteered as a Reiki Practitioner in a spiritual community that met once a week at a Chiropractor's office to offer healing. In 1999, Etya graduated at the top of her class from Indian River Community College and received an AA diploma. Years later At 55, Etya proudly walked across the stage to accept a bachelor’s degree in professional studies from her favorite professor, Susan Braunstein. She is a life member of Barry U's Alpha-Phi sorority.
In 2008, after undergoing a near-death experience, Etya rekindled her passion for writing, which started when she was a high school student in Ukraine. At that time, she wrote to escape the dark reality of antisemitism she faced daily. Decades later, Etya made her voice heard.
Recently, MasticadoresUSA, a literary magazine also known as MUSA, recognized Etya's love for writing and her dedication to this art form by awarding her the honor of a Treasured Contributor.
TC Palm newspaper printed her political opinions. Her literary work appeared in The White Rose, The Write Launch, Unleashed Creatives, and Spill Words magazines. She had published her stories on Medium and Reedsy. In 2023, Turning Points Anthology published her story, Unconditional Love.
To fine-tune her writing, Etya joined the Life Writers, a group run by Patricia Charpentier, the author of the multi-award-winning book Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time. She actively participates in the online writing community Write from Your Center, run by Nadia Colburn, a recipient of the Pen/New England Discovery Award and Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. In addition, Etya is a member of the Alumni Café Memoir Ink community created by Alison Wearing, a multiple literary awards recipient. She is a part of Athena Sisterhood's Writing Club. Locally, Etya attends a Palm City Library's Writing Group, and before the pandemic, she was in charge of the Melody Lane Writers group in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Read her work here.
Etya Vasserman Krichmar, a refugee of the Soviet Union, departed the life of “not enough” to come to the USA in 1978 with her husband and two-year-old daughter to seek freedom. Her struggles and stolen childhood stories are powerful, honest, and moving.
“Antisemitism followed me like a shadow everywhere I lived.” She writes of personal triumph in the face of adversity and life under a brutal totalitarian regime of the Communist Soviet Union, where religion was forbidden and punishable by law. Though born in Kazakhstan, the Soviets listed her nationality as Jewish, even though she was never allowed to have faith at all.
An optimistic soul who always sees the good in people. Etya is exceptionally kind. She has forgiven those who tried to crush her spirit. She feels compelled to share her story to help others recognize that antisemitism in America exists and that it has no place here. Her book, Living in Fear, Surviving Behind the Iron Curtain book combines descriptions of the historical events of World War TWO that her parents witnessed and personal recollections of trials and tribulations and how she lived as a Jewess under confinements of the Communist Party's totalitarian regime in a godless country of the Soviet Union.
At twenty-three, Etya Vasserman Krichmar, claiming religious discrimination, left the Soviet Union, the country of her birth, to seek freedom on the shores of the United States of America. Arriving in New York in 1978 with her husband and a two-year-old daughter, she began living without fear. To realize her American dream of providing a better life for her family, Etya needed to learn English and pursue her education. In January 1981, she graduated from Latin American Institute with cum-laude diploma. Two weeks later, she found employment with the Guardian Life Insurance Company. In 1995 she resigned as an Agency Finance Analyst and relocated to Florida.
The same year Etya became a Reiki master and volunteered as a Reiki Practitioner in a spiritual community that met once a week at a Chiropractor's office to offer healing. In 1999, Etya graduated at the top of her class from Indian River Community College and received an AA diploma. Years later At 55, Etya proudly walked across the stage to accept a bachelor’s degree in professional studies from her favorite professor, Susan Braunstein. She is a life member of Barry U's Alpha-Phi sorority.
In 2008, after undergoing a near-death experience, Etya rekindled her passion for writing, which started when she was a high school student in Ukraine. At that time, she wrote to escape the dark reality of antisemitism she faced daily. Decades later, Etya made her voice heard.
Recently, MasticadoresUSA, a literary magazine also known as MUSA, recognized Etya's love for writing and her dedication to this art form by awarding her the honor of a Treasured Contributor.
TC Palm newspaper printed her political opinions. Her literary work appeared in The White Rose, The Write Launch, Unleashed Creatives, and Spill Words magazines. She had published her stories on Medium and Reedsy. In 2023, Turning Points Anthology published her story, Unconditional Love.
To fine-tune her writing, Etya joined the Life Writers, a group run by Patricia Charpentier, the author of the multi-award-winning book Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time. She actively participates in the online writing community Write from Your Center, run by Nadia Colburn, a recipient of the Pen/New England Discovery Award and Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. In addition, Etya is a member of the Alumni Café Memoir Ink community created by Alison Wearing, a multiple literary awards recipient. She is a part of Athena Sisterhood's Writing Club. Locally, Etya attends a Palm City Library's Writing Group, and before the pandemic, she was in charge of the Melody Lane Writers group in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Read her work here.
Awards & Recognition
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