Johanna Reiss

Johanna Reiss

As a young Dutch Jewish girl Johanna Reiss survived the Holocaust by hiding on a farm in Usselo, a village near the German border. In 1969, while she was in Holland doing research for a book about her wartime experiences, her American husband, Jim, committed suicide. Her book about that second trauma, A Hidden Life, was published in 2009.

Books by Johanna Reiss

Interviews with Johanna Reiss

Books About Suicide, recommended by Johanna Reiss

As a young Dutch Jewish girl, Johanna Reiss survived World War II hidden in the attic of a farmer called Johan Oosterveld. Her memoir of that time, The Upstairs Room, is still read in schools today. But while she was researching that book in 1969, her American husband, Jim, killed himself. In this interview, she recommends books on the painful subject of suicide, as well as the music that helped heal the pain.

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