Portrait of a Survivor

Soghoian, Florence M.

A moving story of the first genocide of modern times, Portrait of a Survivor is the personal journey of mother and daughter as they miraculously live through the horrendous decade of 1915 through 1924, known as the Armenian Genocide, when two million Armenians were brutally slaughtered by the Turks or forced on an agonizing death march through the desolate Syrian Desert. The author asks the question: 'What was it about Shnorhig (my mother) and Vartouhi (my grandmother), that enabled them to endure the atrocities of that terrible genocide 80 years ago, the only two of a family of 18 to survive.' Their deep religious convictions and strength of character gave them the faith and hope not to give up. So beyond revealing a very well-documented period of history that few Americans are familiar with, there is an underlying message in this sensitively-written portrait for everyone - that no matter how terrible your life may be, not to give up. Shnorhig and Vartouhi - two ordinary women leading extraordinary lives - turned their horrendous decade of pain into a lifetime of helping fellow human beings to live better lives. This book is their fascinating story - from before the genocide to the present time. Within that time frame is the immigrant experience that almost every American has somewhere in his background as well as the challenge of creating a new and meaningful life in a new world. Surely there is enormous pain in the story, because all genocide is enormous pain. But much more than that, it is story of victory