Her first name - Nechama - means "comfort" in Hebrew. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and three kids. She has a master’s degree in nutrition. Her passion is writing - she believes that stories are the most powerful way to connect to others. As she says, "Stories help us better understand each other and ourselves. Stories remind us of what is beautiful in the world, entertain us, and make us laugh." Her grandmother was the light of her life and her very best friend. Her friends' grandmas brought them presents, hers brought her stories. Rosie told her stories about her village and its stream that wrapped around it like a moat. She told Nechama about her mother, her deceased father, her smart sister, and sweet brother, and about the grandfather who believed in her. She told Nechama stories about the Holocaust, how she fought to survive, and how she believed in herself. She was passionate about sharing her story because she knew the world would know how to receive it and how to give it a happy ending. Nechama Birnbaum is still inspired by her wonder of words, perspectives, and what-ifs. She hopes to continue telling stories of courage, comfort, and hope. Although her grandmother Rosie is not here anymore, she is in every story Nechama will tell.

Rosie was always told her red hair was a curse, but she never believed it. She often dreamed what it would look like under a white veil with the man of her dreams by her side. However, her life takes a harrowing turn in 1944 when she is forced out of her home and sent to the most gruesome of places: Auschwitz. Upon arrival, Rosie’s head is shaved and along with the loss of her beautiful hair, she loses the life she once cherished. Among the chaos and surrounded by hopelessness, Rosie realizes the only thing the Nazis cannot take away from her is the fierce redhead resilience in her spirit. When all of her friends conclude they are going to heaven from Auschwitz, she remains determined to get home. She summons all of her courage, through death camps and death marches to do just that. This victorious biography, written by Nechama Birnbaum in honor of her grandmother, is as full of life as it is of death. It is about the intricacies of Jewish culture that still exist today and the tender experiences that are universal to all humanity. It is a story about what happens when we choose hate over love.