Joel Waldman on Family Memory & True Crime

As the host of the hit true crime podcast, Surviving the Survivor, Joel Waldman spends his days airing commentary on the nation’s most heartbreaking and horrific crime stories.  Yet Joel grew up knowing very little about how his own mother Karmela, or Karm as he affectionately calls her, survived the Holocaust while her father and grandfather were gassed at Auschwitz.  Joel’s book, based on interviews with his mother, Surviving the Survivor: A Brutally Honest Conversation about Life (& Death) with My Mom: A Holocaust Survivor, Therapist and My Podcast-Cast Co-Host, is by no means limited to the subject of the Holocaust.  Filled with warmth, love and humor, Joel shares Karm’s thoughts on subjects ranging from marriage to money.  But throughout, the book raises important questions about why we sometimes choose to bury the past and whether this is ever truly possible.