History is not something the Hermanski family reads about, it's something they live.
In the booming 1920s, New York pulses with opportunity, and the Hermanskis seem poised to claim their share. Marvin patrols the city's streets as an NYPD officer, chasing bootleggers and raiding speakeasies alongside legendary Prohibition agents. Lazar, the family patriarch, finds himself drawn into the charged world of politics, traveling with Al Smith on a presidential campaign that will test both his courage and his convictions.
When the stock market crashes in 1929, prosperity vanishes overnight. Samuel Geller, once a confident Wall Street investor, loses everything, his fortune, his security, his pride. Forced into a cramped apartment with extended family, he must confront a new reality as he struggles to provide for those he loves.
As the Great Depression tightens its grip, the Hermanskis face challenges far beyond financial hardship. Antisemitism rises at home and abroad. Violence erupts in the streets. Dreams are deferred, and survival demands sacrifice. From the Bonus March in Washington to a desperate mission to aid Jewish refugees turned away from safe harbor, each family member is pulled deeper into the defining crises of their time.
Yet through it all, they gather each week around the Shabbat table, holding fast to faith, tradition, and one another.
Sweeping, emotional, and richly grounded in history, Prosperity and Hardship - A Jewish Family Saga Book 2 is a powerful portrait of a family tested by adversity and strengthened by love.