My Eyes Looking Back at Me: Insight Into a Survivor's Soul

You will admire the strength and resilience of this determined woman, weep over human hatred and evil, and the senseless loss of lives. Rejoice over the bonds of love, friendship and forgiveness, of finding relatives, and share the triumph of unexpected turns in Leah's story that will inspire you, leaving you breathless. "How did she do it?" You'll find it all here, as you follow Leah through the many phases of her life, her redemption and revenge against Hitler's evil, and to grateful happiness during her 90th year. When Leah Cik Roth decides to write her secret memoirs for her children, writer, Menucha Meinstein, walks into her life as a volunteer. The two develop the deepest of human bonds as together they uncover Leah's lifelong bitterness and suppressed Holocaust memories. Through Soul-Writing, they struggle to relive Leah's stories, revealing heroic patterns of resilience from the young age of five. Her memories bring out fresh pain, and renewed feelings of loss and loneliness. The Holocaust is merely a backdrop to Leah's life. Together, the two women share joy in the legacy that Leah leaves for the world.

Drawn to working with the elderly since she was a teen in Seattle, Menucha Meinstein volunteered at hospitals and old age homes. After retiring to Miami, armed with an M.A. in Psychology from Antioch University, she developed a technique of self-guided therapeutic journaling, Soul-Writing, to nurture optimism and resilience. She used the technique in a Chai Lifeline class for mothers of medically fragile children.
Menucha participates in the Para-Chaplaincy Volunteer Program of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation (GMJF) in collaboration with Jewish Community Services, and utilized her Soul-Writing skills to work with a Holocaust survivor wishing to write a memoir. Menucha, paired with Leah Czik Roth, began working on fashioning Leah s compelling history.
Through the writing experience over these last four years of storytelling, recording and crafting, all done in the Aventura, Florida home of Menucha and her husband, Eddie, Leah became such a constant and beloved presence, they invited her to move in with them. As Leah s biographer, Menucha is the driving force for the publication and promotion of My Eyes Looking Back at Me: Insight Into a Survivor s Soul. Together they are deeply involved in cultivating Holocaust awareness to students and adults through educational programs in the Miami area.
Menucha has participated in a myriad of programs that provide support to the elderly, the sick and the bereaved. She volunteers with Bikur Cholim and Chevra Kadisha Societies, and participates on the (GMJF) Mishkan Miami Leadership Council. She is a member of the South Florida International Press Club, and a founding member of Aventura Authors.