I Will Never Be Fourteen Years Old: Le Chambon-sur-Lignon & My Second Life

History / World War II / Jewish Studies Excerpt: I have only a few hours left in the house that was mine since I was born, to fill myself with its soul and its warmth, with everything that was my universe. Suddenly I remember my birthday, July 25, less than a month away. Never in my young life have I celebrated my birthday without them him and her. I ask for and demand their promise: I ll never be fourteen years old unless you are both with me. The happy childhood of François Lecomte, born under the name Lévy, ended when persecution of French Jews brought his father to the decision to send wife and son into hiding. Staying behind brought bitter regret to his beloved father, who was arrested, and François ultimately became one of the many children hidden in the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. After the war, his mother sent him to a boarding school for three years, where he was extremely unhappy. Eventually, they learn that Jean Lévy, his father, had perished in the gas chambers of Auschwitz shortly after his arrival there. François tells his own story from babyhood through adolescence with humour and grace, and both style and content engage the reader throughout. His adolescence cut short, François slowly found the path of Remembrance that would keep his father always with him continuing in the love of the arts and music that they had shared. As an adult, he cherishes the love of his wife and grandchildren and lives with the certainty that somewhere on this earth, a new Martin Luther King will come to have a dream.