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by Daniel Hock (Author)
In 1930s New York City, Benesh Burke dreams of fitting in. While his immigrant parents expect him to honor their Jewish heritage and work in the family store, Benesh wants to play baseball and blend into a society that increasingly targets Jews. When anti-Semitism escalates-his best friend is beaten, their store vandalized-Benesh makes a choice: he'll simply stop being Jewish. Enlisting in the Army as "Ben" he hides his Jewish identity and befriends the very soldiers who torment Jews and other minorities. But when his unit liberates Dachau concentration camp in 1945, Ben confronts the ultimate consequence of his betrayal. Surrounded by the bodies of Jews who died for the faith he so casually discarded, his psyche shatters. Unable to face his family, Ben wanders aimlessly until he meets Maisy, a waitress in North Carolina who offers him unexpected love. Yet even this gift feels undeserved, and Ben runs again-until a fellow soldier helps him understand that redemption requires the courage to return home. What Benesh finds there will test whether love and forgiveness can truly heal the deepest wounds. Perfect for fans of literary historical fiction and WWII dramas, Benesh is a deeply human portrait of one man's journey to rediscover himself, his family, and his community.
