Search for Meaning with Ralph Shayne

Well, first, I wanted to start with the whole decision you made to do this as a graphic novel rather than as a traditional memoir or a history book.

And many of us have read some of those other graphic novels, especially if we're talking about the Holocaust, people are going to think about Maus, which was, I think, really the first one in that genre.

I find it incredibly gripping and compelling.

And as a kid who grew up with comic books, I love that format.

And I find it a way that's, you know, to be so accessible and so powerful.

But I wanted to just start with your decision to do it that way.

What drew you to that form?

Well, like you, I enjoyed the art form.

As a child, I started collecting comic books in the 80s, but really what inspired me to take my mother's story was the graphic novel series March and a visit to Chicago by Congressman John Lewis to talk about his series March, which is his autobiography of his experience growing up in the civil rights movement.

And that's what helped me think about how powerfully he used that genre to talk about the civil rights movement and how I thought it could really be a great way to showcase my mother's experience.

That's beautiful.

And the connections, one of the things that I found really powerful in the book is that there is in the In the example of the people of Denmark and the people of Sweden, so many righteous Gentiles who at personal risk, great personal risk, save the lives of Jews.

It's this invitation.

Can we be that person? person for another who's in in danger is there a way we can live and you you quote in the book the text from from the torah you know to love the stranger is a is a commandment of our tradition can we be that person so i love that this was inspired by john lewis because that is such a perfect overlay um Tell me a little bit about the partnership and collaboration with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and how that came about.

Because you had mentioned just as we were getting started that there's an educator's guide that goes with the book, which we'll put in the episode notes.

But tell me about that connection.

I was fortunate to get their help and support to take on this project.

Doing this alone, being a first-time author is pretty daunting and I wanted to make sure that I could reach an audience and I also wanted to make sure that I had pure authenticity and complete historical accuracy.

And they saw this.

as part of their mission as well.

My mother was 56 years an American citizen living in Chicago and they wanted to help bring her story to light and are somewhat progressive in their thinking and using educational tools.

So being able to do something with a graphic novel fit into their mission.

They had just done a holograph exhibit and were fully supportive of helping me make this turn into a reality.

It's beautiful.

And doing something like this is, you know, especially complex because not only do you have the story and everything you do to bring that to light in a way that's engaging and powerful, and it's going back and forth in time from, you know, your mother's childhood to a family visit where you go back to Denmark to sort of a roots tour.