A New Beginning - The Compelling True Story of One Man's Journey Against Overwhelming Odds

In A NEW BEGINNING, Alfred Langer does what so many don't have the courage to do: he looks back at the pain in his past in order to show why he is so appreciative for the present and the unwritten future. The book allows us to see how no matter what we have been through, it is possible to not allow us to define us while at the same time we can learn from it and apply it to what is to come today and tomorrow. It's true what we are told: sometimes you have to go through the hurt and the storms in order to experience the rainbow on the other side. The real lesson Alfred seems to share is that we can't allow tragedies to destroy us but use them to make us that much stronger. A NEW BEGINNING is just what you need no matter what you have gone through. Without it we are lost.

I was drawn into the author's emotional and intimate details of his true-life story. A remarkable read of courage and triumph and a testament to the human spirit.

Alfred Langer lived in a small town during World War II and did not understand how life could be dramatically changed in the blink of an eye. Shielded from the war's latest news, his family was surprised when they were taken from their home and forced to humiliate themselves in front of others. Families were torn apart and their spirits were broken. Survival was the game and the Langer's decided to play. Instead of letting this experience take over, they fought with a vengeance and turned their story of sorrow into a story of triumph. I am always interested in reading books that prove how much people can really do when they are put to the test. Alfred's life wasn't easy and it's not exactly easy to read about his life either. While reading this book, I was blown away with Alfred's strength and he is a true hero who deserves recognition. Alfred is a truly talented author.

Al has written a compelling, deeply moving autobiography of his life in Germany during and post World War II. The strength of the family's Catholic faith - particularly his mother's - is awe inspiring. Without it, their journey might have had a different ending. I was so spellbound by Al's story that I read the book in its entirety in one day. I had no trouble visualizing what was happening to the Langer family thanks to Al's beautifully written descriptions as well as the addition of some family photographs. This is a wonderful tribute to the power of faith and the human spirit and I thank Al for sharing it with us.

A New Beginning Author: Alfred Langer ISBN: 9781934938850 Publisher: Langton Street Press The time period is the World War II. This is the true journey of one family's desperate pursuit for safety, happiness, hope and survival. Through the eyes and words author Alfred Langer we hear the cries, screams, feel the tears and visualize the horrors inflicted on them in the novel In the Beginning written by Alfred Langer. Rudolph and Elsa Langer lived in the small town of Hermannstadt where they felt safe and secure. Working their land and teaching their children respect and honesty they lived what one might called a sheltered life as all of the residents of this small town did. Hidden away from the rest of the world and receiving limited information or propaganda about the war and Germany's fate, the people never realized until it was too late, that life as they knew it was about to end. This brings me to my review of In the Beginning by Alfred Langer who relates to the reader and the world the true story of the horrific atrocities, terrible conditions inflicted on his family and the people of his town when invaded by the Russians and the Czech. One knock on his door and one piece of paper would forever change the life of the Langer family, his friends and leave them with nothing. A frightening train ride, indignations and humiliations that were inflicted on all of the passengers, families separated and made to live apart and more. Children forced into work camps, others sent away to work in the mines and families hoping for their return. With the bare minimum that they were allowed to take they wound up in Naila and under the care of the Red Cross and their strict rules. The children were forced to grow up really fast. Living in the barracks the Langer children were grateful to be able to take part in various organized activities. When all of their valuables were stolen and they were forced to live in a cramped space above a shoe factory, the Langer family learned not only the meaning of keeping the faith but prejudice too. With the help of the Red Cross and the American Government, the Langer family was able to survive. With enterprising children and a father who would stop at nothing to provide for his family, Rudolph Langer learns the meaning of prejudice, injustice because of his ethnic background and the nearsightedness of people. But, that was about the change. Reading this true and heartbreaking story of this family I could picture what they went through and feel part of the journey that the author is relating. Closing your eyes you can visualize the atrocities graphically described by the author and inflicted on his family and himself. No matter what was thrown at him or his family they endured, survived and held together as a unit. Could you live above a shoe factory? Could you survive on food rations in cans? Could you share a bathroom with people that you never met? Could you learn to live without toys, expensive shoes and e