Interviews

Feb 9 2024

Bored Panda features FSC

Here's an article that describes why family relationships are important and how to reconcile after estrangement.
Feb 2 2024

German publisher of Motherland mourns my mother, Edith Westerfeld Schumer

· The German publisher of Mutterland (Motherland) has posted this message on the homepage of its website: "We mourn Edith Westerfeld – the protagonist of our book Motherland... Beyond the Holocaust. A Mother/Daughter Journey to Reclaim the Past by her daughter, Fern Schumer Chapman." #HolocaustEducation #HolocaustRemembrance #memoir #bookclub
Jan 31 2024

40 Years of Estrangement – A reader confronts her toxic family’s abuse

A reader posted her story on my blog: I confronted my mother with her immensely controlling abusive behavior and sexualized attachment to me in 1986. I had to get away so desperately to find myself that I cut off everyone in the family. Lucky for me, my father corroborated my experience but since he too was utterly dependent on her he could not continue to be in contact with me. ...
Jan 31 2024

New York Times article features FSC

    Honored to be featured in this New York Times article!  
Jan 28 2024

Why siblings in Holocaust families struggle to get along

  Siblings respond differently to parents' Holocaust trauma, causing estrangement. KEY POINTS Children of Holocaust survivors either remain enmeshed with their families or alienated from them. Parents either exposed children to personal horror stories or said nothing about their experiences. Children of survivors became “parents” to their own parents, soothing their anxieties and allaying their fears. Genocidal trauma not only kills family members; it also ruptures the family for generations ...
Jan 22 2024

Stockstadt Evangelical Church’s heartfelt obituary for my mother

  The Stockstadt's Evangelical Church's most recent newsletter honestly recounts my mother's early life in Germany in its obit for her. In 2014, the Church apologized to my mother and me for not protecting her during the Holocaust. Here is the translation: Oldest Jewish woman from Stockstadt dies Edith Schumer-Westerfeld died on Sunday, January 14, 2024. Edith Therese Westerfeld was born in Stockstadt in 1925. Her parents were respected citizens. ...
Jan 18 2024

Obituary for Edith Westerfeld Schumer

My son, Keith Chapman, wrote this beautiful obituary to honor his grandmother.
Stitching and embroidery
Jan 17 2024

Stitches of Love

In her 98 years, my mother always had a foot in two worlds. “Oma,” who fled Nazi Germany for America, learned to embroider in school in Stockstadt am Rhein. In her last years, she colorfully embellished hand towels for family and friends. Many people around the world now have these special tokens to remember her. She taught me how to stitch, and I have shared this skill with the women ...
Dec 19 2023

Betrayal Blindness: Not Seeing What’s Obvious

Research on attachment reveals why the betrayed stay in a state of denial.
Dec 13 2023

Oh, Brother (or Sister)!

New article that captures the essence of sibling relationships and their challenges.