By Nhi Aronheim (MTeleCom'01)

(Skyhorse, 288 pages; 2021)

The Unbelievable True Story of a Vietnamese Refugee Who Not Only Made the United States Her Home, But Learned the True Value of Hope, Love, and Religion Along the Way.

The soles of Nhi Aronheim's feet still bear the scars of her escape from Vietnam—trudging through the jungles of Cambodia as a twelve-year-old with a group of strangers seeking the land of opportunity: America. Her quest for survival through the Cambodian jungle eventually led her to a boat that took her to Thailand and an orphanage where Nhi lived for two years until she qualified for refugee status in the United States. Years later, she returned to Vietnam with a film producer to reunite with the family she never thought she’d see again. A second trip to Vietnam brought her two mothers, birth and adopted, face to face.

Yet Soles of a Survivor isn’t just another inspirational survival story. It’s about the lessons Nhi learned about humanity, diversity, and unconditional love since arriving in the United States. She now has a deeper appreciation for the parallels between the Jewish and Vietnamese cultures, and others. After she met her Jewish beau, they got married. She eventually converted to Judaism, though the process was challenging for an Asian woman adopted into a Christian household. Her story shows it matters less what religion we’re part of, as long as we radiate goodness to those we meet.

Now she relishes being a Vietnamese Jew.

Having come full circle from prosperity to poverty and back, Nhi hopes to encourage others to believe that in spite of overwhelming odds, all things are possible if one has an intense desire, focused energy, and the audacity to grasp presented opportunities.

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by Romayne Kazmer (DistSt'61)
(Willow Books/Aquarius Press, 138 pages; 2020)

Author Romayne Kazmer attributes her love of travel and curiosity of the world to her year abroad in 1959/60 studying at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and summer school at the University of Oslo in Norway. She traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East at that time. The Appendix contains a speech she gave about her life in 2005, 45 years after she completed her first journey.

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by Karl Gustafson (APMath, Fin'58)
(Springer International Publishing, 65 pages; 2019)

In the early morning hours of Feb. 1, 2016, Karl Gustafson became instinctively aware that something catastrophic was happening inside him. A severe headache that had persisted for days had taken a sudden turn for the worse, and a clear inner voice ordered him to obtain immediate help. With determined effort, he tapped out the digits “9-1-1” on his phone―bringing an ambulance to his door quickly and saving his life. Emergency Room doctors would soon learn that Professor Gustafson, a renowned American mathematician, had suffered a deep brain hemorrhage, and that the situation was dire. By the time his condition was diagnosed, blood had pooled into all four ventricles of Gustafson’s brain and he was comatose.

Against all odds and surprising everyone, the author emerged from a near-death state to go on to what he calls his “Second Life”. This is the story of his miraculous journey of recovery, an inspirational tale of grit and determination, in his own words.

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By Abel Laeke (�����Ա�’00)
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 326 pages; 2014)



The American Dream is alive and well. From a traditional Ethiopian home to the shores of his new home in the United States, struggle and a constant state of learning have been Abel Laeke’s continual companions. As a young man, he was lured by the bad behavior of those he considered friends, alarming him family and derailing his life. After the trauma of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, his life hurtled toward the dark halls of a psychiatric institution. Like a phoenix, he was able to reclaim his life and turn his hard-won lessons into a passion for service to humanity.

No Pressure, No Diamonds is a blazingly honest memoir: controversial, insightful and thought-provoking. This sharp and unflinching look at Abel’s life will engage readers in every state of mind.

“I don’t possess a Ph.D. or MBA, and you can’t buy the lessons I’ve learned at an Ivy League school,” said Laeke. “I learned the hard way how to rebuild my life and how to be a valuable member of my community.”

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