The Man Confused By God
THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD is the story of Bennet Mermel. Stylistically similar to “Strength In What Remains”, “Tuesdays With Morrie” and “The Soloist”, THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD fills a void that other Holocaust memoirs have left unfilled.
Bennet Mermel was born in a tiny village deep in the Carpathian Mountains and the unexpected survivor (by his own account) of Buchenwald, Ohrdruff, Crawinkle, and three other smaller infamous camps. He studied opera in post-war Munich before leaving his nightmares behind and joining his brothers Steve and Kalvin (whose life he once saved) in America. From the chaos and claustrophobia of New York, Bennet and Steve, on an idea born from Kalvin, set out to build a business in the early days of Los Angeles’ garment industry.
Once in LA, all three brothers work diligently to forget the past creating a future like they’d never known. With little money the brothers restart their lives. Bennet marries but divorces. Within a year of the divorce, Bennet’s three children move in with him and he is left to raise them, long before it is common, in one of the great demographic shifts of the mid-twentieth century. And so a successful clothing executive with a son and two daughters might have been the life story of Bennet Mermel. But then comes the tragic death of his brother, Kalvin, who world weary on the streets of Los Angeles, succumbs to a fractured heart.
The shock of losing Kalvin transforms Bennet’s life, with one remarkable memento retrieved from the scene more than thirty years ago that lives on in the trunk of Bennet’s car. It is this transformation and the ongoing influences Bennet has on those around him which forms the unfinished tale of his mesmerizing life.

Based on a previously unpublished life story penned by Bennet Mermel, The Man Confused By God is told with the voice of Rosalie Cushman, his friend, confidant, and memoirist. Through Rosalie’s eyes, wit and her ability to ask courageous questions, the reader discovers a deeper meaning yet pocked with confusion. How is Bennet to square all that he has witnessed, with a previously held religious system that no longer applies, not only to Bennet’s life, and not only to the lives of other survivors, but to some of the enduring questions of the past century, transcending religions and generations.

THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD should find a wide audience among readers interested in the major events of the Twentieth Century where life-changing events propel self-examination into life’s deepest questions, including redefining life, liberty, and spiritual understanding and expression. Categories include the Holocaust, human nature, memoirs, religion, music, business, and true stories filled with tragedy, despair, tenacity, and ultimately hope while soldiering on in the face of ongoing spiritual angst.
"1108102966"
The Man Confused By God
THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD is the story of Bennet Mermel. Stylistically similar to “Strength In What Remains”, “Tuesdays With Morrie” and “The Soloist”, THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD fills a void that other Holocaust memoirs have left unfilled.
Bennet Mermel was born in a tiny village deep in the Carpathian Mountains and the unexpected survivor (by his own account) of Buchenwald, Ohrdruff, Crawinkle, and three other smaller infamous camps. He studied opera in post-war Munich before leaving his nightmares behind and joining his brothers Steve and Kalvin (whose life he once saved) in America. From the chaos and claustrophobia of New York, Bennet and Steve, on an idea born from Kalvin, set out to build a business in the early days of Los Angeles’ garment industry.
Once in LA, all three brothers work diligently to forget the past creating a future like they’d never known. With little money the brothers restart their lives. Bennet marries but divorces. Within a year of the divorce, Bennet’s three children move in with him and he is left to raise them, long before it is common, in one of the great demographic shifts of the mid-twentieth century. And so a successful clothing executive with a son and two daughters might have been the life story of Bennet Mermel. But then comes the tragic death of his brother, Kalvin, who world weary on the streets of Los Angeles, succumbs to a fractured heart.
The shock of losing Kalvin transforms Bennet’s life, with one remarkable memento retrieved from the scene more than thirty years ago that lives on in the trunk of Bennet’s car. It is this transformation and the ongoing influences Bennet has on those around him which forms the unfinished tale of his mesmerizing life.

Based on a previously unpublished life story penned by Bennet Mermel, The Man Confused By God is told with the voice of Rosalie Cushman, his friend, confidant, and memoirist. Through Rosalie’s eyes, wit and her ability to ask courageous questions, the reader discovers a deeper meaning yet pocked with confusion. How is Bennet to square all that he has witnessed, with a previously held religious system that no longer applies, not only to Bennet’s life, and not only to the lives of other survivors, but to some of the enduring questions of the past century, transcending religions and generations.

THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD should find a wide audience among readers interested in the major events of the Twentieth Century where life-changing events propel self-examination into life’s deepest questions, including redefining life, liberty, and spiritual understanding and expression. Categories include the Holocaust, human nature, memoirs, religion, music, business, and true stories filled with tragedy, despair, tenacity, and ultimately hope while soldiering on in the face of ongoing spiritual angst.
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The Man Confused By God

The Man Confused By God

The Man Confused By God

The Man Confused By God

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Overview

THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD is the story of Bennet Mermel. Stylistically similar to “Strength In What Remains”, “Tuesdays With Morrie” and “The Soloist”, THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD fills a void that other Holocaust memoirs have left unfilled.
Bennet Mermel was born in a tiny village deep in the Carpathian Mountains and the unexpected survivor (by his own account) of Buchenwald, Ohrdruff, Crawinkle, and three other smaller infamous camps. He studied opera in post-war Munich before leaving his nightmares behind and joining his brothers Steve and Kalvin (whose life he once saved) in America. From the chaos and claustrophobia of New York, Bennet and Steve, on an idea born from Kalvin, set out to build a business in the early days of Los Angeles’ garment industry.
Once in LA, all three brothers work diligently to forget the past creating a future like they’d never known. With little money the brothers restart their lives. Bennet marries but divorces. Within a year of the divorce, Bennet’s three children move in with him and he is left to raise them, long before it is common, in one of the great demographic shifts of the mid-twentieth century. And so a successful clothing executive with a son and two daughters might have been the life story of Bennet Mermel. But then comes the tragic death of his brother, Kalvin, who world weary on the streets of Los Angeles, succumbs to a fractured heart.
The shock of losing Kalvin transforms Bennet’s life, with one remarkable memento retrieved from the scene more than thirty years ago that lives on in the trunk of Bennet’s car. It is this transformation and the ongoing influences Bennet has on those around him which forms the unfinished tale of his mesmerizing life.

Based on a previously unpublished life story penned by Bennet Mermel, The Man Confused By God is told with the voice of Rosalie Cushman, his friend, confidant, and memoirist. Through Rosalie’s eyes, wit and her ability to ask courageous questions, the reader discovers a deeper meaning yet pocked with confusion. How is Bennet to square all that he has witnessed, with a previously held religious system that no longer applies, not only to Bennet’s life, and not only to the lives of other survivors, but to some of the enduring questions of the past century, transcending religions and generations.

THE MAN CONFUSED BY GOD should find a wide audience among readers interested in the major events of the Twentieth Century where life-changing events propel self-examination into life’s deepest questions, including redefining life, liberty, and spiritual understanding and expression. Categories include the Holocaust, human nature, memoirs, religion, music, business, and true stories filled with tragedy, despair, tenacity, and ultimately hope while soldiering on in the face of ongoing spiritual angst.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940013821163
Publisher: Rosalie Kay Cushman
Publication date: 12/27/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 690 KB

About the Author

Rosalie Cushman has a rich and diverse background in public relations, marketing, sales, performance production and writing. She has worked with authors Mary Swander, PoetLaureate of Iowa, Pulitzer-prize winner Jane Smiley, among others, creating and co-producing Dames from Ames for Public Television in Iowa. Additionally, Ms. Cushman has promoted numerous authors, including Garrison Keilor, and co-produced three reunion events with Steve Allen for Drake University. Further, Ms. Cushman has authored a memoir for Iowa State University on Margaret Sloss.

Ms. Cushman has been a reader for Big Bear Film Festival for the past six years. She has written web content for a wide variety of websites as a freelance SEO writer contracted with the #1 search engine firm in America - Wpromote. Additionally, Ms. Cushman is a contributing writer for FINE Magazine, the Rancho Santa Fe Website, www.ahharsfnews.com and www.values.com. She has co-authored the memoir, The Man Confused By God, with Bennet Mermel - a unique dialogue incorporating Bennet Mermel's life story, spanning his remarkable life of courage and triumph from Buchenwald to Beverly Hills. Currently, Ms. Cushman is finishing a book of meditation and contemplation, Vibrating At The Speed Of Love.

Bennet Mermel began his early life in Zdenovo, Czechoslovakia, developing a love of music at an early age. His education was interrupted by WWII, ultimately surviving multiple concentration camps and numerous death marches, along with his brother, Kalvin. After liberation, Mr. Mermel went on to 'survive freedom,' making his way to Munich to study Opera at the Handel Conservatory of Music and Academy of Music. In 1949, Mr. Mermel immigrated to the US, settling in New York for a time and began building a new life. He earned a degree in Sacred Music from Hebrew Union College, became a Cantor at Flushing Jewish Center, worked as a pattern-maker at Slender Styles, married, and began a family. In 1961, he relocated to Los Angeles, and developed several clothing enterprises, Julie K and Mermel & Mermel, with two brothers. After retirement, Mr. Mermel learned the travel industry and traveled extensively throughout the world.

During the course of Mr. Mermel's life, he has developed a life-long love of learning, is fluent in eight languages, is self-taught in drawing and painting, and loves nature. Bennet experienced what it means to lose freedom and regain it.
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