Found and Lost
Mittens, Miep, and Shovelfuls of Dirt
Published on 1. October 2017
Book
Hardback
220 pages
978-1-910749-59-3 (ISBN)
Description
In this haunting memoir, Alison Gold gives a luminous account of key moments in her life that brought her to be the writer she is.
Alison Leslie Gold is best known for her works that have kept alive stories from the time of the Holocaust, stories of courage and survival - most famously her Anne Frank Remembered, co-authored with Miep Gies (who risked her life to protect the Frank family).
She has never chosen to write about her own life or what made her into a gatherer of other people's stories, until now, in Found and Lost, a tender memorial to the extraordinary people in the author's life, and a compelling tale of redemption.
Starting with her childhood experience of running her primary school 'Lost and Found' depot, Gold develops, through a series of letters, a meditation on ageing, friendship, loss and the forces that link us to the dead. They tell of her early activism, her descent into alcoholism and her recovery, and her discovery of the power of writing to give a shape and meaning to a life. In the very act of writing, she begins to find a route out of depression and grief.
Alison Leslie Gold is best known for her works that have kept alive stories from the time of the Holocaust, stories of courage and survival - most famously her Anne Frank Remembered, co-authored with Miep Gies (who risked her life to protect the Frank family).
She has never chosen to write about her own life or what made her into a gatherer of other people's stories, until now, in Found and Lost, a tender memorial to the extraordinary people in the author's life, and a compelling tale of redemption.
Starting with her childhood experience of running her primary school 'Lost and Found' depot, Gold develops, through a series of letters, a meditation on ageing, friendship, loss and the forces that link us to the dead. They tell of her early activism, her descent into alcoholism and her recovery, and her discovery of the power of writing to give a shape and meaning to a life. In the very act of writing, she begins to find a route out of depression and grief.
Reviews / Votes
'This memoir captures the rough texture of lived experience in a way that often eludes more straightforward autobiography.'* Times Literary Supplement * 'Gold's Found and Lost reshapes memoir in one of the most inventive and moving ways I've yet to encounter in all my years of voraciously reading non-fiction.'
-- Julie Poole, Bookseller, Malvern Books, Texas 'Let us give recognition to Alison Gold. Without her and her talent, too, this poignant account, vibrating with humanity, would not have been written.' -- Elie Wiesel on Anne Frank Remembered
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 191 mm
Width: 120 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
254 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-910749-59-3 (9781910749593)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2017
Notting Hill Editions
€10.00
Available for download
Person
Alison Leslie Gold's works include Anne Frank Remembered, written with Miep Gies, Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend, A Special Fate and Fiet's Vase and Other Stories of Survival. Her non-fiction work received numerous awards. She also published fiction, including Clairvoyant and The Devil's Mistress, the latter being nominated for a National Book Award. A native New Yorker, Alison had homes in Hydra, Greece and in New York. She died in September 2025, aged 80.