I recently travelled to the Netherlands where I was invited to give a series of four school presentations to hundreds of students age 14 – 17 to tell the story of my parents’ remarkable survival, love and triumph over evil. I shared how my parents experienced and witnessed the worst of humanity first-hand during World War II and were able to still find love and joy in the aftermath despite the trauma of their past.
My mother, Sonja Pagrach, survived the concentration camps of Nazi Europe. First, she was taken at 15 to Camp Vught in the Netherlands, the only SS concentration camp outside Nazi Germany during the Second World War, where she was imprisoned for a year before being deported to Auschwitz. She faced death in the gas chambers three times and survived. My father, John Franken, was 18 and in the Dutch Navy Air Force when he was captured at sea by the Japanese to become a prisoner of war. He survived the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
With rising teen depression and suicide, teens need to hear this story, now more than ever. They need to know that you can go through terrible things in life, but you can still find love and joy in the aftermath. My parents are incredible role models for all of us and especially for young people.
An important message for students I convey with this story is that at the end of the Second World War a global vow was taken by the United Nations that said 'never again'. These teens are the future, the next generation. They need to know that they can do things differently. They don't have to let things like this happen again and again. It all starts with them, and I want to teach them that they have the power of making their own choices in their thoughts, beliefs and actions.
My book is featured in the collections at the prestigious Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington. It is also available for purchase on site at the museum store of the Florida Holocaust Museum of St. Petersburgin Florida and the Camp Vught National Memorial in the Netherlands. It is also available on my website, Amazon and other major online book retailers.
The book is being made into a feature film currently in development.
The A List: 9 Guiding
Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living, is a self-help book I wrote
and first published back in 2006. As a proud cancer survivor who
also overcame my food and weight issues, I am very proud of this book as it has
helped thousands of others change their lives one bite at a time for a
healthier body and happier life. After many requests, I have FINALLY published it as a
Kindle eBook now available on Amazon.com for $7.99. If you buy the book between
February 19 – 25, 2023, you can take advantage of the launch promo price at
only $3.99.
Why and how did I come
to writing this book? Here's the story...
When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma
at 29, I was in shock. How could I have cancer? I was only 29. I was full of
plans and hopes and dreams for my future so battling cancer was not exactly part of the
plan. The good news is that after 9 months of chemotherapy and keeping a positive attitude, I beat it. Yup, I
beat my cancer and 27 years later, I remain cancer-free.
At 39, I got on the scale to discover that I
was at my heaviest weight. How could I have let myself put on all those
unwanted pounds? Maybe I was subconsciously thinking, "Hey, I just beat cancer, I deserve that piece of chocolate cake. I deserve to celebrate just having survived it." Who knows, right? I can't say for sure how I allowed it to happen, but the bottom line was that I had already lost my health to cancer. So, now afraid of putting
myself at risk of getting cancer again, or heart disease, diabetes, high blood
pressure and/or any other diet and weight-related diseases, I chose to fight
back once again, only this time to win my battles with food, weight, and
lifestyle obstacles once and for all. I won that battle too. How? The answer is
what makes up the life-changing principles that I discovered through my weight
loss journey to a healthier body and happier life that I share in my
internationally acclaimed book, The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for
Healthy Eating and Positive Living, now available as a Kindle eBook.
In The A List book, I offer
practical tools, personal insights and positive inspiration to help people
BREAK FREE from self-sabotaging eating, thinking and lifestyle habits; REACH,
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relationship with food for results to last a lifetime; MINIMIZE weight and
lifestyle related health risks such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood
pressure, some forms of cancer and more; REDUCE menopausal symptoms; and
INCREASE energy and sense of well-being. The book outlines the my 9 guiding
principles for healthy eating and positive living each starting with the letter
"A". I explore each as a necessary ingredient for achieving greater
health, lasting weight loss and control, and enhanced quality of life.
Along with loads of practical tools and information,
I share personal insights from my own struggles with food, weight, and life
management challenges plus real life examples from my weight loss coaching
clients. With self-reflective coaching style questions, I help people
understand themselves and their relationship with food and their inner selves
in a newer, deeper and more meaningful way. This helps them relearn how to eat
properly and improve their quality of life by making healthy, balanced food and
lifestyle choices. The book also includes fast and easy healthy recipes.
Available now as a Kindle eBook on Amazon.at a special
discount promotion price in effect February 19 – 25 for only $3.99, regularly
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So excited to make my European media debut with this article in a Dutch newspaper called 'Het Klaverblad' about my speaking to over 300 students in the Netherlands. I told the students the story of my parents remarkable survival, love and triumph over tragedy as Holocaust and atomic bomb survivors and all the positive life lessons we can learn from them to better ourselves and help make our world a better place.
It was especially meaningful for these students since my parents were also Dutch. For example, when I showed the video of my dad reading his love letters to my mom in Dutch, these kids could understand his every word and didn't need to read the subtitles. The students loved it.
I look forward to speaking to more students in the Netherlands, North America and around the world!! If you know anyone in the school system where you live, please contact me and I will reach out to them. The original Dutch article is available HERE (page 5).
Below is the English translation with a few slight modifications.
Daughter of Kamp Vucht survivor spoke at Maurick College in the Netherlands
Students in the Netherlands listening to Roslyn Franken tell her parents' life story as told in her book, Meant to Be.
Roslyn Franken is the proud daughter of John and Sonja Franken, two unlikely survivors of World War II. Sonja, née Schoontje Pagrach, was taken by the Nazis at 15 from her home in Rijssen, a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel, to Kamp Vught, the first of 11 Holocaust concentration camps in Europe where she was held captive located in the city of Vught and the only SS concentration camp outside of Germany in Western Europe. John was born in the former Dutch East Indies and shortly after being drafted into the Dutch Navy Air Force at 18 was captured by the Japanese to become a prisoner of war. He was working as a slave laborer near Nagaski when the Americans dropped the atomic bomb there. He, too, survived.
How did these two young Jewish teens survive the horrors of their captivity continents apart to eventually meet, marry and make a beautiful life together in Montreal, Canada after all the trauma and suffering of their past? Roslyn recently answered all of these questions and more in a series of three virtual presentations she delivered to over 300 students at Maurick College in Vught, the city where Sonja was first held captive.
Roslyn says, “Young people learn about the Holocaust and World War II in school from history books, but as the daughter of survivors, I feel it is important for youths everywhere to hear about the real-life experiences of real people like my parents and not just statistics from a textbook. As my mother was their age when she was taken to Kamp Vught in the city where they live, it makes it even more relatable, which helps them develop a greater understanding and sense of empathy and compassion for what my parents went through.”
In these times of growing division and adversity, and increasing rates of teen depression and suicide, youths everywhere need to know Roslyn Franken’s story of her parents' amazing survival over suffering, humanity over hate, and triumph over tragedy, NOW more than ever.
Sebastiaan van Oers, History Teacher at Maurick College, said, "The story of Roslyn and her parents came to us through her relative whose children attend Maurick College. In the context of living history and an increasingly international world, we thought it would be a good idea to have Roslyn give lectures in English at our school. The fact that her mother was in Kamp Vught and was then the age of the students who attended the lectures makes it very easy for the students to connect to the story. Roslyn's story is full of situations that students can identify with as they are real-life stories. Our students were impressed by the story and listened with fascination. The lectures were a unique experience for our students and we hope next year to bring Roslyn to Vught to give her presentation in person."
WOW!! Thank you so much to Community Reporter Megan Hussey and the Hernando Sun newspaper in Tampa Bay Florida for the awesome article about me and my husband, Elliott Smith entitled 'Reader's Choice Couple'.
It all started back in May of 2022 when both my husband and I were delighted to find out that we were both nominated for the Hernando Sun Newspaper Reader’s Choice Awards. I was nominated for Best Author (www.RoslynFranken.com) and my husband for Best Entertainer (www.SeeTheMagic.com).
There were 16 categories total with 115 sub-categories including “Author” and “Entertainer”. There were 738,911 votes in total across all the categories both national and international so needless to say, Elliott and I were both thrilled to hear that we won. When we realized that we were the only married couple to be awarded GOLD winner in our respective categories, we were even that much more thrilled, as you can imagine. We are very grateful to all the people who voted for us.
It's a few months later and here we are enjoying the thrill again with this wonderful article about me and my magical husband Elliott as the Reader's Choice Couple.
Life has sure been busy. Busy doing what? Busy getting my MEANT TO BE book and presentation into schools. Why schools? Because in these times of growing division and adversity, and increasing rates of teen depression and suicide, and Lord knows all the school shootings, youths everywhere need to know the story of my parents' amazing survival over suffering, humanity over hate, love over loss, and triumph over tragedy NOW more than ever. I guess that's why it's been a while since I last posted here. Well, I am here now to bring you up to date and ask for your help.
The youths of today are our future so we better start paying more attention to them today. They need our help. They need our support. They need for us to educate them, empower them, and love them. Above all else, they need strong role models and to be instilled with positive values. They need to know they are important, that they matter, and that they are here for a purpose. They need to believe in themselves and their future, but alas, they are suffering.
I spoke to a school Resource Officer a little while back and asked him, "What are kids so depressed about? What is happening in their lives that is so bad that they want to kill themselves?"
Here was his reply.
"Let me give you a perfect example, Roslyn. I had a 15-year old girl come to me the other day who had slit her wrists wanting to die. I asked her what happened. She told me that her boyfriend broke up with her and that was it."
I looked at him speechless. I didn't know what to say. I don't remember anyone in my high school back in the late '70s and early '80s growing up in Montreal, Canada, who ever cut their wrists wanting to commit suicide. Maybe I was just naïve and didn't know it was happening around me, but it was not something ever known or talked about and I am pretty confident it just wasn't something that kids in my school turned to as a solution to their problems.
It breaks my heart that this young girl was ready to pack it all in because her boyfriend broke up with her. Life is hard sometimes and kids need to know that this is just a fact of life. Things happen to all of us, but it is how we face our adversities and rise above them that helps us gain strength and empowers us to face the next adversity with greater strength and wisdom.
"What about all the bullying?" I asked him.
Here was his reply.
"Bullying is not like it was when we were teens. Back then a kid might be bullied at school, but then they would go home and that would be it till the next day. Now, with the internet and social media, the bullying continues 24/7. There's no relief."
"But what are they being bullied about?" I asked.
He replied, "I had a kid who posted something on his social media about his dad leaving the family. His dad left without a word and never came back. He was very sad and had nobody to talk to about it so he put it on his social media. Next thing he knew, a classmate had spotted it and put as a reply, "Well, of course your dad left you. You're so f'n ugly and stupid, if I were your dad, I would leave you too."
If that wasn't bad enough, this bully's comment sparked a flurry of hurtful comments toward this young man who they barely knew. Some of them didn't even know him at all but jumped on the bandwagon posting horrible things just for fun. How did something like this become fun? How is it that posting hurtful comments to someone clearly reaching out and in pain can possibly be fun? How is it that so many young people have no empathy or compassion?
This is why I tell my parents' story to young people. I tell my parents' story in my award-winning book (https://roslynfranken.com/about-the-book.html) and audio-visual presentation entitled, MEANT TO BE: A TRUE STORY OF MIGHT, MIRACLES AND TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT (https://roslynfranken.com/youths.html). It is the story of my mother who survived the Holocaust concentration camps in Nazi Europe and my father who survived the Nagasaki atomic bomb as a Prisoner of War in Japan.
My mother was only 15 when she was taken by the Nazis. My dad was 18 when taken prisoner by the Japanese. This makes their story so powerful and relatable for today's teenagers since my parents were their same age. I have told their story on many a school stage to thousands of teens and they LOVE it each and every time. I've had standing ovations which you can see in my latest video.
My parents are incredible role models for today's teenagers. That is why I was the first guest speaker to address the class in Parkland, Florida that was shot into by the gunman in 2018 that killed 17 people. Thanks to the support of private donations, I was able to go there and give a presentation and each student received a signed copy of my book as a gift.
I spoke there telling my parents' story to bring these kids much needed hope and inspiration. By hearing the story, the students learned that people can go through terrible things in life and still find joy in the aftermath. My parents are strong and beautiful examples of this since they are role models for what it means to triumph over tragedy. After witnessing and experiencing the worst of humanity first-hand and with not just days, but years of pain, loss and suffering at the hands of their brutal captors, my parents could have easily chosen to be bitter for the rest of their lives. My parents always chose to be better and not bitter. My parents were the kindest, most compassionate, appreciative and strongest people I have ever known. What better role models could our children have? How could I not share them with the world who needs them so badly, especially our teens?
Young people need to learn about what people like my parents went through in prior generations. It is not just about Holocaust education. My dad was not in the Holocaust. There are millions of people who suffered in WWII who were not in the Holocaust that we must also remember. Kids need to learn about the kinds of discrimination, hate, evil and bullying people like my parents experienced during World War II and what can happen if we don't stop it and start learning how to live together in this world with greater dignity, kindness and respect toward one another regardless of our differences. We need to focus on how we are all more similar than we realize. I have a wonderful story my dad shared with me that supports this point so beautifully that audiences of all ages resonate so strongly with.
All this to say that I am on a mission to speak to teens wherever possible and welcome invitations from high schools, youth organizations, youth camps, Churches and other religious youth groups, and any other ideas you may have for reaching teens. I invite you to reach out to me with any suggestions of where you think I should be speaking. Ideally I will be there in person to address the kids face to face, but failing that, with the power of Zoom and other virtual technologies, I can speak to kids anywhere in the world.
I ask you to share this post with any teachers, school principals, school counselors, school media specialists or any other school administrators you know. I ask you to share this post with any youth groups you know of. You know what? Why not share this post with your teens? They're the ones who can benefit, so let them read this and watch this video. Why not have parents watch my video with their teens and put in a request to the schools to have me speak there and get my book into their libraries and classrooms. The video is on YouTube so you can share it. Let's make it go viral. Let's get people to take notice. Young people need to read the book, experience the presentation and reach out for help when they need it. They need to help each other. I would love to sit down with a group of teens and brainstorm all kinds of projects we can do together to take the learning from the story of my book to the highest levels to help teens everywhere. If you're a teen reading this, I invite you to contact me. You can be a leader in your school and community and we can work together to make great things happen.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and watch my video. Don't forget to share it with others and help spread the word.
If you would like to made a donation to Roslyn's Student Speaking Tour, click HERE.
Donations are not tax-deductible. Donations will appear on your credit card statement under my company name, RF Productions LLC. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available upon request
I am very excited to announce that I can now call officially call myself an award-winning author and could not be more proud. My
book, Meant to Be: A True Story of Might, Miracles and Triumph of the Human Spirit, was honored with a GOLD award by the Nonfiction Book Awards, via
the Nonfiction Authors Association! Check out the details here: https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/meant-to-be/
Official NFAA Review
Roslyn Franken’s Meant to Be is inspiring. That is seen immediately from the Table of Contents as the chapter titles lay out on the page an overview of two lives in a way that takes readers’ breaths away. In the Introduction and in the pages to follow, Franken recounts the story of her parents, John and Sonja, as they live through unimaginable, nightmarish, life-threatening events with courage, bravery, and resilience. The inclusion of beautiful family photos pulls the reader into the story of these two incredible souls as they live their separate lives, then meet and begin a letter-filled courtship that changes their lives forever. Countless life lessons follow, and these eventually influence and help the author through her own challenges in later years. Franken leaves readers with a treasure trove of uplifting words of wisdom related to Power of Choice and Power of Perseverance, citing how her parents used both throughout their lives, and how she herself exercised that power in her own life. A beautiful, moving book that will touch the heart.
~ Nonfiction Authors Association Book Awards Program
So many people have amazing life stories and family histories others would love to read. There is a wonderful book inside them just waiting to be written. Are you one of these people? Do you know someone who is? Then time to get these stories onto the page and out to the world. Or, maybe it is just a personal legacy book to be shared only with family.
Either way, if you or someone you know has ever thought of writing their story, then join me for my upcoming WRITE YOUR BOOK Workshop. First, I will get you inspired by sharing about why and how I wrote my two books. And then it is hands-on time when I will get you writing. You will want to have a paper and pen handy or your Word program open and ready to go.
Even if you’re just curious, come and join us. It’s free to attend on ZOOM and only 30 minutes. You just need to register, as space is limited. Please share this post or invite your friends and family. You never know who in your circle has been secretly wanting to write their life story or family history. I may offer this again on a weekend sometime, but please know that a recording of the workshop will not be posted.
