Let's Make Things Better: Finding Hope in the Darkest Days

Holocaust survivor and social media sensation Gidon Lev shares his extraordinary story and the wisdom he has cultivated throughout his life in a call for all of us to seek the good, no matter what. 

“To me, hard times are like hide-and-seek—where is the solution, where is the hope? We can never give up looking for these things because they are just waiting to be found.”

When he was just ten-years-old, Gidon Lev was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp after four nightmarish years. Twenty-six family members, including Gidon’s beloved father and grandparents, were murdered in the Holocaust. Only Gidon and his mother survived. From the depths of despair, a little boy who had lost so much was determined to build a life filled with adventure and love. And that is exactly what he did. 

Today, a spritely and cheerful octogenarian and father of six, Gidon speaks to celebrities and diplomats all over the world and has taken social media by storm—all with his signature candor, charm, and wisdom. Just what makes this Holocaust survivor, rascal, and dogged optimist tick? Sharing remarkable stories from his extraordinary life, Lev reveals his secrets of happiness and fulfillment. 

From reconciling with the sometimes painful past to embracing this singular gift called life, Gidon has never taken a day of his life for granted—and neither should we. “You don’t get the life you want,” Gidon says, “you get the life that you get.” Let’s Make Things Better is the story of an indomitable spirit whose cheerful determination to never give up is just what we need during these uncertain times. 

Now more than ever, Gidon Lev has important lessons for us all about life and how to live it well: having the courage to stand up to hate, living for the moment, believing in ourselves, nurturing loving and caring relationships, and always, always believing that a better world is something worth fighting for.

Gidon Lev was born Petr Wolfgang Löw in 1935 in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) in the former Czechoslovakia. Father of six and grandfather of fifteen, he now lives in northern Israel with his life partner of many years, Julie Gray.

Julie Gray was born in 1964 in the San Joaquin Valley in California and grew up in Mount Shasta. In 2012, she moved to Tel Aviv and founded the Tel Aviv Writer’s Salon. Julie’s writing can be found in the Times of Israel, Moment Magazine, the Huffington Post, the Jewish Journal of Great Los Angeles the New YorkPost and many other publications. A passionate believer in the power of storytelling, Julie has volunteered with the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, the Middle East Peace Initiative, USAID, Kids for Peace, and Amnesty International.  In 2017, Julie met Gidon Lev and has been writing and creating content about his story of hope ever since.