The Choice: Embrace the Possible

Edith Eva Eger is a Holocaust survivor and a psychologist practicing in the United States. She is the author of two books, The Choice and The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life, which was published in September 2020.

Nicknamed Dicuka (pronounced ditzu-ka) by her family, Eger is born a Jewish Hungarian and considered a minority for both ethnic identities. She often feels invisible with her plain features (and a crossed eye until age 10), and compared to her musically gifted older sisters, her gymnastics talent is less esteemed. However, her position on the Hungarian Olympics team reveals her considerable skill. The only time she feels fully herself—not like a tool for her parents’ comfort or a fly on the wall—is during gymnastics and dance routines. She feels in harmony with her limbs and balance, not by their mere function but for their artistic beauty, the singularity of her identity and presence. When Eger’s coach tells her that “all [her] ecstasy in life is going to come from the inside” (16), she has no idea how much she will rely on her inner strength and beauty to survive both the war and the healing process that follows.