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WE ARE GOING TO BE LUCKY: A World War II Love Story in Letters

WE ARE GOING TO BE LUCKY: A World War II Love Story in Letters

A World War II Love Story in Letters

PRAISE

“This remarkable collection of letters gives us a unique glimpse into the experiences of a World War II soldier and his wife on the home front. The correspondences between Lenny and Diana are both relatable and fascinating—full of funny anecdotes, powerful impressions of combat, profound insights into human nature, and a shared hope for a better world. Elizabeth L. Fox, the daughter of the letter writers, has edited this collection beautifully, vividly bringing to life a deeply personal love story within the dramatic context of a world war. From page one, we find ourselves rooting for this couple—for their commitment to fighting for justice, for their daily triumphs and struggles as soldiers and parents, and, ultimately, for them to be ‘lucky’ enough to hold each other again in a time of peace.”

  —Andrew Carroll, editor of the New York Times bestsellers War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars and Behind the Lines and the founding director of the Center of American War Letters

“At the heart of this fascinating and educational tale about a soldier and his wife during wartime is a wonderful love story.”

  — Richard Aquila, author of Home Front Soldier: The Story of a GI and His Italian American Family During World War II 

“A pure joy and a window into a lost world.”

— David Shneer, author of Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust

“This carefully edited collection of correspondence reveals the pain, sacrifice, and everyday struggles—and magnanimity— of the Greatest Generation, and the universal beauty of human connection.”

— Julie Scelfo, author of The Women Who Made New York

“A rare window into the everyday lives of a young couple, separated originally by Lenny’s basic army training in Mississippi to their final reconciliation in 1946 ... pulls you in in such a way that you will not want to put the book down until the finish.”

— Melissa Suzanne Fisher, author of Wall Street Women
 
 
 

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble in print and electronic versions

 

WATCH THE TRAILER

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

WE ARE GOING TO BE LUCKY
A World War II Love Story in Letters

Edited and Annotated by Elizabeth L. Fox

We Are Going to Be Lucky tells the story of a first-generation Jewish American couple separated by war, captured in their own words. Lenny and Diana Miller were married just one year before America entered World War II and Lenny was sent off to train and fight. Deeply committed to social justice, and bonded to one another by love, both vowed to write to one another daily. As Lenny made his way through basic training in Mississippi to the beaches of Normandy and eventually to the Battle of the Bulge, Diana struggled financially, giving up her job as a machinist to become a mother. The couple’s extraordinary letters, preserved in their entirety, reveal and reflect the excruciating personal sacrifices endured by both soldiers at war and their young families back home. After decades of gathering dust, the couples’ words have been carefully transcribed and thoughtfully edited and annotated by Elizabeth L. Fox, Lenny and Diana’s daughter.

Hadassah Magazine Review, January/February 2019

SUNY Press 

Tablet Magazine

 

Lenny and Diana

 

ABOUT LIZ

Elizabeth L. Fox

has served for more than twenty years in a leadership role on the National Board of Hadassah, where her responsibilities include writing, training, and public speaking. She has a BA in history from the City College of New York and an MA in vocational rehabilitation counseling from New York University. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Talk: National World War II Museum

https://livestream.com/nww2m/events/8947671

  • Book Review: National World War II Museum

https://www.nationalww2museum.       org/war/articles/love-war-review-we-are-going-be-lucky-world-war-ii-love-story-letters

 

Topic: Las Vegas Hadassah Book Club with Liz Fox

Start Time : Jun 30, 2020 11:34 AM

Meeting Recording:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/wuZNE_Kq_HNORYXS7RCDcaA4I93Paaa80SlMq6YPmh0XZJUKDx_At2aquCEM1_R0

Access Password: Lucky18!

American National Jewish Military History Museum in Washington, D.C.:

https://youtu.be/wK5WD9aVoKQ.

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

2021
January
February
Wednesday, February 10, 7:30 PM EDT
Hadassah Lower New York State
Tuesday, February 23, 1:30 PM EDT
Renaissance Chapter, Southern NJ Region Hadassah
March
Thursday. March 11, 7:30 PM EDT
Hadassah Northern NJ Region & New York, NY Region
April
May
June (postponed from 2020)
Saturday, June 2021, Rick's Cafe
1940s WWII Ball, Boulder Municipal Airport,  Boulder CO

Additional cities and dates to be announced

PAST EVENTS

2018

August

Sunday, August 26, 3:45 – 4:30 PM
Hadassah Desert-Mountain Region, Denver

September

Thursday, September 13, 12:00 noon
Lunch & Learn, JCC, Denver
Monday, September 24, 11:00 AM
Flatirons Terrace, Boulder
Tuesday, September 25, 7:30 PM
Boulder Book Store, Boulder
Thursday, September 27, 7:00 PM

Frasier Meadows, Boulder

October

Monday, October 1, 7:00 PM
Tattered Cover, Colfax Store, Denver
Monday, October 15, 6:30 PM
Denver JCC JAAMM Fest – Colorado Author's Panel
Thursday, October 18 7:00 PM
NYC Launch – American Jewish Historical Society at the Center for Jewish History, New York, NY
Tuesday, October 23, 2:00 PM
Newbridge on the Charles, Dedham, MA
Wednesday, October 24, Noon                  
Hadassah Northeast, Newton, MA
Thursday, October 25, 12:30 PM
Temple Shalom Emeth, Burlington, MA

November

Sunday, November 4, 11:00 AM
Denver Chapter Hadassah, Brookdale Mountain View, Denver
Sunday, November 18, 9:30 AM
Colorado Springs Hadassah and Temple Men’s Group, Colorado Springs
Tuesday, November 27, 11:30 AM
Hadassah Greater Washington, Rockville, MD
Thursday, November 29, 7:00 PM
National Museum of American Jewish Military History, Washington, D.C.

December

Monday, December 17
La Sienna, Phoenix, AZ
Monday, December 18
Saddle Brook, Tucson, AZ

2019

January

Thursday, January 17
Hadassah Miami Region, Aventura, FL
Wednesday, January 23
Hadassah Book Group, Orlando, FL
Friday, January 25
Women's Cultural Alliance of the Greater Naples Federation, Naples, FL
Wednesday, January 30, Noon
Optimist Club, Boulder, CO

March

Saturday, March 16, Noon
Arvada Center Book Fair, Arvada, CO

April

Wednesday, April 10, 7:00 PM
Congregation Har HaShem, Boulder CO

May

Sunday, May 5, Noon
Hadassah Southern Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Sunday, May 19 9:30 AM
Temple Beth Shalom, Needham, MA

June

Sunday, June 2, 4:00 PM
LEA (Littleton, Englewood, Arvada) Chapter, Hadassah, Englewood, CO

August

Tuesday, August 27, 3:00 PM
Carillon, Boulder

September

Wednesday, September 11, Noon
Hadassah Suffolk, Setauket, Long Island, NY

October

Thursday, October 3, Noon
Onyx Club House, Glendale, CA
Saturday, October 26, 8:30 AM - Noon
Colorado Springs Author's Day, Featured Speakers, American
Association of University Women, Colorado Springs
December
Tuesday, December 17, 11:00 AM
Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix, Scottsdale, AZ

2020

January
Thursday, January 16, 7:00 PM
Hadassah, Naples, FL

February

Thursday, February 6, 6:00 PM
National World War II Museum, New Orleans, LA
Wednesday, February 12, 11:30 - 2:30
California Hadassah Annual Literary Luncheon,
Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, February 22, 7:00 PM
Anthem Colorado, Broomfield, CO

March

ZOOM Presentations
April
May
June
Monday, June 20, 12:00 PM 
Hadassah Brooklyn Region Luncheon, Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, June 30, 12:00 PM
Hadassah Las Vegas Book Club
August
Tuesday, August 4, 10:00 AM
Hadassah Central Pacific Coast Region CA
September
Sunday, September 13, 1:00 PM
Hadassah Rochester N.Y. and Lexington KY
October
Friday, September 16, 11:00
Boulder Hadassah and Boulder JCC
November
Thursday, November 12, 11:00 AM
Baltimore Hadassah Region
Thursday, November 19, 6:15 PM
Literary Circle, Congregation Shomrei Torah, Santa Rosa CA
December
Sunday, December 13, 10:30 AM
Hadassah Upper Midwest Region

 

 

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