Previous | Next 

CURRENTLY IN BOOKS
A story of faith and courage

SuAnn Brandt Goertzen

A Life Displaced

Edna Schroeder Thiessen and Angela Showalter

Scottdale, Pa./Waterloo, Ont.: Herald Press and Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2000. pp. 217. $24.00.

A Life Displaced is about a Mennonite woman’s flight from war-torn Poland. Edna Schroeder Thiessen is that woman. In this autobiographical story of Thiessen’s suffering, courage and faith, we see a peaceful Mennonite community destroyed, and witness the cruelty of soldiers.

This book relates well to Mennonites. We are to be actively involved in helping others, which is what Mennonites did in aiding the rescue of Thiessen and many others trapped in Poland. We need to be aware of where we come from, and what happened to us and to others like us. What are the mistakes of the past? How can we change and become better people?

We can learn a lot from Edna Schroeder Thiessen’s life. She did not give up her faith in God, no matter how difficult. She clung tenaciously to Him, and He gave her life – not just in her dramatic rescue, but in day-to-day survival, through the labour camps, through losing her home, her family – all of life as she once knew it. God held her close when no one else could, seeing her through immensely difficult times, including walking barefoot through miles of roads, fields and forests. He continued to guide her when she needed to make bold decisions such as escaping the prison camp on her own.

Angela Showalter, the editor, began this book as her senior research paper while studying at Goshen (Ind.) College. The book was compiled from that research and from multiple interviews with Thiessen.

A series of photographs, original documents and a map included in this volume graphically represent some of the personal moments from Edna’s life, contrasting the distinct eras she has traversed.

SuAnn Brandt Goertzen attends Jubilee Mennonite Church and is a homemaker in Winnipeg.

Previous | Next 

Last modified June 27, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.