He is a young man, navigating career and relationship uncertainties, caught up in his own life. But a grudging afternoon visit in New York City with his grandmother will open windows to an untold family past – and a profound friendship with the extraordinary woman who will change his life.
Finding Maria tells a story of love and discovery, of tragedy and growth. As they walk museums and see films, they talk about her younger years in Budapest, including stories of Holocaust survival and an escape from Communism, leading him to a deeper and more mature understanding of his grandmother, and himself.
Foreword Reviews describes the memoir as “achingly beautiful,” and calls it a “heartfelt, honest look at love and loss across generations of a family.”
This beautiful memoir calls us to ask, to learn, and to love … while there is still time.
With graceful prose and a sure sense of narrative, Peter Szabo shares his discovery of his family’s past, of their suffering and bravery, betrayals and the catastrophic loses. When the apartment is empty, the possessions distributed, and the door on one life is closed, the reader is left with memories that seem almost personal, so clearly do these lives nearly become our own.”
– Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, author of I Kiss Your Hands Many Times: Hearts, Souls, and Wars in Hungary
Findings – a Blog by Peter Szabo
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“Can we really learn about ourselves by looking at our parents, grandparents and other family members from previous generations? That is the premise of Finding Maria: A Young Man’s Search for His Grandmother, and Himself, by Peter Szabo.
“Szabo discovers much about his relatives and their lives in this beautiful book – and, even better, so do his readers…This well-written memoir provides a glimpse of a Jewish family’s life during and after World War II in Budapest and later as Americans. It is insightful in all its settings.”
– Aaron Leibel, The Jerusalem Post, 6/15/17
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