UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH
Laurel Corona, Author

Dear Colleague,

Having been an educator for more than thirty-five years, as I wrote UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH, students were never far from my mind.

I tried to use the skills I developed writing middle and high school library books to explain history and give necessary background information in simple, clear language, and in a style that would hold the interest of as many different types of readers as possible.

No one could ever fully convey in words the experiences of Jews in the Holocaust Since overwhelmed readers stop reading, UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH does not dwell more graphically or at greater length on the horrors of Nazi treatment of the Jews than I thought was necessary to give an accurate overall picture. Within this context, a story of two real and likable young people is interwoven. I believe this will help students remain engaged in the book in a positive way, taking away from the experience more than graphic images of brutality and indignity that can so easily overwhelm everything else.

Because of my commitment to Holocaust education, I will try in whatever ways I can to help make teaching this book a positive experience for you and your students. This might include a conversation by phone with your class, an internet chat, a blog, or, in the San Diego area, a visit to your school.

I intend to develop and post on this site a study guide and discussion questions for the book, and I would appreciate any suggestions you have. For the time being, I have put links on this page to a number of sites with lesson plans for your use and study materials for students. I would also appreciate feedback as to whether an index would make the book more useful. If so, I will do my best to supply one either on this site or in future editions of UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH. Please use the e-mail link on this page to send me any feedback you have about the book or this website.

Thank you for your interest in UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH.

Sincerely,

Laurel Corona