This graphic work of non-fiction explores the concept of ‘surviving’ in terms of what it means to be Jewish. Akira Ohiso, half-Japanese half-Irish, is a recent convert to Judaism. As a new Jew, he struggles with his role within the religion and in the face of a fresh fear, anti-Semitism.

Through the process of conversion, Akira learned his maternal great-grandfather, Jules Sottnekoff, was a silent Jew. Upon his immigration to the United States from Riga, Latvia, Jules married into a deeply Catholic family and suppressed his Jewish identity. After his death, the family found a simple Kiddush cup, a vestige of a hidden past. This Kiddush cup became, for Akira, evidence of Judaism’s ability to thrive and survive.

At the time of his conversion, Akira worked as a social worker, helping Holocaust survivors continue to survive. He has learned that their childhood traumas lurk like a shadow. His unique perspective as a convert helps him create fresh and sincere relationships with Survivors. He has amassed rich stories of life and survival from his visits to people who no longer have family.

The title of the book represents the triumvirate of endurance: Akira’s struggle with Judaism in the face of anti-Semitism and Jules’ Jewish reemergence set against the backdrop of Akira’s retelling of Holocaust stories. The story rotates around the iconic image of Jules’ Kiddush cup. This image becomes the physical manifestation of survival. The stories become generalized portraits of survivors.

Surviving takes an intimate look into the stories of related Jews on both sides of a century and the horror settled in between.