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Author Sharon Cameron discusses UP FROM THE ASHES on Cyrus Webb Presents · Cyrus Webb's tracks

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  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Cyrus Web Presents. I'm
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  Speaker 1: your host, Cyrus Webb. Glad you all could join us
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  Speaker 1: once again for those tuning in on our simulcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube,
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  Speaker 1: and on X. We're glad you all could be with
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  Speaker 1: us today. Also going to welcome our friends joining us
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  Speaker 1: on the radio side here in Mississippi, WYAD 94.1 FM
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  Speaker 1: and wyadonline.com. We're going to bring in our friends over
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  Speaker 1: on Amazon Live as well as on IG as well,
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  Speaker 1: so they can be a part of our chat today.
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  Speaker 1: Have a very exciting guest as we're kicking off prime
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  Speaker 1: days here on amazon she's now celebrating the release of
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  Speaker 1: her brand new book today and we get to talk
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  Speaker 1: to her about it you guys are going to really
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  Speaker 1: enjoy this not only for young readers but i think
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  Speaker 1: for also all of us we're now live on the
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  Speaker 1: amazon live side of our broadcast with cyrus where i
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  Speaker 1: present if you guys are new to us on amazon
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  Speaker 1: we know we have a lot of new people because
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  Speaker 1: it is prime day welcome make sure you guys do
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  Speaker 1: hit that follow button either here in this corner or
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  Speaker 1: down below you also will see the newest book by
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  Speaker 1: our next guest we're excited to welcome Best-selling author Sharon
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  Speaker 1: Cameron to our broadcast today. I got a chance to
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  Speaker 1: interview Sharon six years ago with her book, The Light
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  Speaker 1: in Hidden Places. She's now out with a brand-new book
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  Speaker 1: you guys can see here called Up From the Ashes.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to talk to Sharon not only about her
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  Speaker 1: love of storytelling, but also what is it that led
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  Speaker 1: her to write this new book, to share this story,
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  Speaker 1: and what she wants you to take away from it. Sharon,
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  Speaker 1: thank you again for stopping by. I really appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: I'm so happy to be here. Good to see you again.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's good to see you, too. And look, when
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  Speaker 1: this was set up, I was so excited about this
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  Speaker 1: because I so enjoyed The Light of Hidden Places. It
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  Speaker 1: was one of our books for young readers of the
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  Speaker 1: year that year. We selected it. And now, of course,
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  Speaker 1: with this new book that is so powerful and you
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  Speaker 1: and I were just talking about, there are some great
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  Speaker 1: mutual themes in this book, too. How does it feel
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  Speaker 1: to have lived with this story, Sharon, now to be
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  Speaker 1: able to share it with all of us?
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's a big question, actually. Because it is a
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  Speaker 2: lot to live with. This is actually my fourth novel
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  Speaker 2: about the Holocaust. I do think Up from the Ashes
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  Speaker 2: is very much a companion to to The Light in
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  Speaker 2: Hidden Places though, because both of those are books that
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  Speaker 2: I would refer to as dramatized reality. The kind of
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  Speaker 2: books where every name of every character is a real person.
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  Speaker 2: Every event is based on eyewitness testimony. So it's just
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  Speaker 2: a matter of sort of me taking that reality and
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  Speaker 2: putting it into a narrative and story and putting dialogue
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  Speaker 2: in there. Those kinds of things that we couldn't know
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  Speaker 2: you know, we can't know what they said and sometimes
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  Speaker 2: we know what happened, but not how. So it's fiction,
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  Speaker 2: but it's a fiction with a very high level of
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  Speaker 2: accuracy and reality. And so when you're doing the research
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  Speaker 2: for something like this kind of book and like The
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  Speaker 2: Light in Hidden Places, it is, it's intense and it is,
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  Speaker 2: it is a lot to live with. And I think
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  Speaker 2: I've been, you pretty intensely studying the Holocaust for about
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  Speaker 2: eight years now. And it is a lot. I sometimes,
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  Speaker 2: I find myself thinking, okay, this situation that I'm researching
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  Speaker 2: and that I'm looking at is the worst that I'm
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  Speaker 2: ever going to see. And then I I get to
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  Speaker 2: the next one. Oh, this is the worst I'm ever
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  Speaker 2: going to see. And so that can be a lot.
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  Speaker 2: So I think what is so remarkable about Up from
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  Speaker 2: the Ashes is that even though in some ways it's
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  Speaker 2: the darkest, most devastating story I've probably written, it's also
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  Speaker 2: at the same time, the most hopeful and the most beautiful.
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  Speaker 2: So it is incredibly, it's incredible to me what the
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  Speaker 2: balance can be When you're researching something like this between
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  Speaker 2: what is so dark and then these moments of just
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  Speaker 2: pure love and light. And that is definitely what I
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  Speaker 2: experienced with this book.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Sharon, for myself as a reader, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure I'm not the only one of the readers of
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  Speaker 1: your books that think this way. When I read, you know,
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  Speaker 1: The Light in Hidden Places, of course, again, as you mentioned,
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  Speaker 1: it's a very dark time. But even just thinking about
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  Speaker 1: the title of these two books, The Light in Hidden Places, up.
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  Speaker 1: from the ashes, it shows that even in dark moments,
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  Speaker 1: that there are individuals who are able to rise, to shine,
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  Speaker 1: and to remind us all of what is possible. Is
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  Speaker 1: that part of what makes the journey a little easier
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  Speaker 1: for you as a storyteller, taking us back to a
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  Speaker 1: dark chapter in history, but also remembering that there are
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  Speaker 1: people who were lights that were able to rise even
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  Speaker 1: in those dark times?
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  Speaker 2: I think what you're saying is exactly why I write books.
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  Speaker 2: And I can trace that love in me or that
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  Speaker 2: I can trace that feeling of being so amazed by
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  Speaker 2: ordinary people who are forced into extraordinary situations. and who
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  Speaker 2: are able to rise up and discover that they are powerful.
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  Speaker 2: That is a theme for me. And that is definitely
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  Speaker 2: why I write books. And that's why I'm drawn to
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  Speaker 2: these stories. Up From the Ashes is about two people
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  Speaker 2: who find themselves in the worst circumstances that anyone could
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  Speaker 2: find themselves in, which was the Sobobor death camp in
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  Speaker 2: Poland in 1943. And they met because they were paired
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  Speaker 2: up to dance together for the amusement of their Nazi guards.
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  Speaker 2: And they didn't speak the same language. But as Selma
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  Speaker 2: said later, love became their language. And they really were
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  Speaker 2: able to, they just decided in that moment that this person,
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  Speaker 2: this other individual, you are going to be my reason
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  Speaker 2: to exist. and survive in this camp. And so these
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  Speaker 2: two people, because they chose to love, because they chose
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  Speaker 2: to not become like the cruel and amoral people around them,
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  Speaker 2: because they chose that, they found not only love, they
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  Speaker 2: found strength, they found resilience, and they found hope.
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  Speaker 1: And it is.
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  Speaker 2: Such a an inner strength, what they chose to do.
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  Speaker 2: And I think it's why they survived. And telling those
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  Speaker 2: stories is why I write.
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  Speaker 1: You said something though in this book, and then when
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  Speaker 1: I was reading it, and that's why I was glad
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  Speaker 1: I had a chance to get an early copy. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: now you all can be able to get it for yourself.
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  Speaker 1: It's officially out today. But I read this one line
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  Speaker 1: in the book, Sharon, and it really, it gave me pause.
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  Speaker 1: And also it made me sad because it reminded me of, unfortunately,
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  Speaker 1: in 2026, how there are so many people who feel othered,
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  Speaker 1: so many people who feel judged just because of who
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  Speaker 1: they are. And the line was that their only crime
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  Speaker 1: was their biology. And I thought to myself, how many
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  Speaker 1: people will be able to connect with that? I'm curious
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  Speaker 1: for you, as you were telling this real story, what
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  Speaker 1: was that reality like for you to think about? That
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  Speaker 1: the only reason why their lives were even in jeopardy
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  Speaker 1: is because of how they were born.
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  Speaker 2: You are so good at pinpointing all the reasons why
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  Speaker 2: I write books. You've just grabbed another one. This story,
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  Speaker 2: like any story of the Holocaust, is I think bigger
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  Speaker 2: than just the persecution and murder of Jews in World
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  Speaker 2: War II. It is a human story. It is about
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  Speaker 2: all of us. And I think that's why these stories
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  Speaker 2: of our history, they're not just about memory. They are
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  Speaker 2: very much about our now. This is a story of
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  Speaker 2: now because this is a story of dehumanization. This is
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  Speaker 2: a story of how one group, decided that another group,
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  Speaker 2: a society, a country decided that another group was less
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  Speaker 2: than they were. And the truth is that doesn't start
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  Speaker 2: with a government or even with a law that starts
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  Speaker 2: with the individual permission of each person in that society
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  Speaker 2: who allows that to go forward. And so, I think
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  Speaker 2: that what history shows us is that when each one
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  Speaker 2: of us in our own lives, in just our daily
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  Speaker 2: normal lives that we go about, when we take one
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  Speaker 2: small step, whether it's in our attitude, whether it is
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  Speaker 2: just how we treat a neighbor, when we take one
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  Speaker 2: small step down that road of dehumanization, the end of
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  Speaker 2: that road is Sobibor. And history has shown us that
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  Speaker 2: that is true time and time again in different places
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  Speaker 2: all over the world. So I feel like if these
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  Speaker 2: stories can reach one person and make just one of
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  Speaker 2: us reconsider how we think about another fellow human being,
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  Speaker 2: how we treat another fellow human being, then these stories
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  Speaker 2: have the potential not just to awaken our memories to
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  Speaker 2: what happened in our past, but to change our world
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  Speaker 2: now and how we move forward now. I think these
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  Speaker 2: stories are world changers.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And I could not agree more. And Sharon, I
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  Speaker 1: think that's why I said in my, in my intro that, yes,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I think younger readers will be able to
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  Speaker 1: read this book and really appreciate it and, and think
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  Speaker 1: about the weight of it, but also get immersed in
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  Speaker 1: the story. But adults, too, will be reminded of, again,
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  Speaker 1: the importance of history. And I want to talk about
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  Speaker 1: that with you, because. You know, I grew up, you know,
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  Speaker 1: as someone who always loved history. I was, you know,
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  Speaker 1: and not just what I learned in school. I was
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  Speaker 1: excited to be able to look to, you know, we
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  Speaker 1: actually had encyclopedias in my house.
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  Speaker 2: The ones that we got along so well. Right.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And so I love the idea of learning more.
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  Speaker 1: And I feel like, unfortunately, in some ways, we're getting
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  Speaker 1: away from that. Understanding the power of of the history
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  Speaker 1: and people not think, oh, well, that's just in the past.
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  Speaker 1: Is that also part of what you hope that people
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  Speaker 1: will read a book like Up From the Ashes and
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  Speaker 1: be able to realize the importance of knowing and appreciating
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  Speaker 1: so that we don't repeat some of the darker parts
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  Speaker 1: of our lives?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. I mean, I think that is the power of
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  Speaker 2: literature and that is the power of story. And that
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  Speaker 2: is why when I'm writing these histories like this, that
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  Speaker 2: I am striving for that high level of accuracy. But
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  Speaker 2: at the same time, putting that in a narrative form,
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  Speaker 2: because as human beings, we are built to take in
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  Speaker 2: information through story. And the truth is that we find
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  Speaker 2: emotional truth, deep emotional truth, we find that better and
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  Speaker 2: we feel it more when it comes through story than
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  Speaker 2: when we're reading about facts. And I love nonfiction and I,
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  Speaker 2: and I love facts, but this hits a human being
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  Speaker 2: in a different way. And it allows us to, um,
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  Speaker 2: to drink that in, in a different way. And, and
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  Speaker 2: I do consider these books to be, um, multi-generational. Um, I,
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  Speaker 2: I think really everything I've written is like that. It's
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  Speaker 2: a YA space, but I would hope that families are
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  Speaker 2: reading this together. And I actually have it happen all
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  Speaker 2: the time that fathers and sons and grandmothers and granddaughters
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  Speaker 2: will come in and say, we both read this book
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  Speaker 2: and we talked about it for days. And that's what
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  Speaker 2: I want. That's what should be happening with literature. And
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  Speaker 2: I think that is what makes it so powerful is
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  Speaker 2: that that is where we find our truth. Fiction is
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  Speaker 2: where we find the truth. And it's where we feel
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  Speaker 2: the truth.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I've always said, it's so funny you said that, Sharon.
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  Speaker 1: I've always said that fiction definitely helps us better to
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  Speaker 1: be able to discuss the truth because we feel less judged,
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  Speaker 1: you know, and we feel like we can all be
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  Speaker 1: able to find something to connect with. I want to
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  Speaker 1: go back to how we began this conversation because, again,
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  Speaker 1: this is a book that, I mean, that takes us
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  Speaker 1: back to a very, very dark time in history, but also, again,
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  Speaker 1: shows that light, but also rising up What helps you
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  Speaker 1: to come out of it? Because I asked you about
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  Speaker 1: living with these characters. What after you've immersed yourself in it,
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  Speaker 1: how do you then be able to pull yourself back
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  Speaker 1: as an author and kind of not only keep that hope,
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  Speaker 1: but also be able to go out and realize that
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  Speaker 1: our best days can still be ahead?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good question, because it is. easy when
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  Speaker 2: you are deep into this research to get mired in
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  Speaker 2: the darkness. That can happen. And so I think it's
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  Speaker 2: amazing how often I am able to pull from my
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  Speaker 2: own books. It's a strange process. I think sometimes you
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  Speaker 2: wrote it yourself. You're the one that put it out
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  Speaker 2: on the page. But sometimes words are when they come
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  Speaker 2: out and they go onto the page, they take on
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  Speaker 2: a life of their own. They become something else. And
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  Speaker 2: sometimes when you're beginning to write these stories and you're
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  Speaker 2: putting those words out, I, as the author myself, I
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  Speaker 2: don't know what's going to come out of that book.
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  Speaker 2: I have to put it out there and I have
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  Speaker 2: to see. And I'm amazed at how often I have
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  Speaker 2: put those words out there and then been able to
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  Speaker 2: draw hope from something that I didn't even realize that
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  Speaker 2: I was writing. And I think it's because of the
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  Speaker 2: lives these people lived. I think it is because I
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  Speaker 2: am writing something out that's true, not something that's, you know,
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  Speaker 2: exactly come from me. I'm writing something out that's true.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm able to pull from these people's lives and realize,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Hyman Selma Engel lived through literal hell and
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  Speaker 2: they rose up. They went hand in hand out that
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  Speaker 2: gate and they were able to build a beautiful life.
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  Speaker 2: It was not a life without its issues or trauma
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  Speaker 2: or baggage or all of the things that comes with
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  Speaker 2: having had these experiences, but they were able to build
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  Speaker 2: a life and then go again and again and again.
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  Speaker 2: and speak the truth of what happened to them in schools,
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  Speaker 2: for other people, to help other people. They took that
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  Speaker 2: darkness and they turned it the other way. And when
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  Speaker 2: I see people living their lives that way, and I
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  Speaker 2: know that's what I'm writing about, it is amazing how
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  Speaker 2: much hope and joy I can pull from that, as
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  Speaker 2: well as the sadness of, I wish it had never
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  Speaker 2: happened to them at all.
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  Speaker 1: Sure. Well, it's a powerful book, Sharon. I'm so glad, again,
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  Speaker 1: we get to share part of your pub day with you. Again, everyone,
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  Speaker 1: best-selling author Sharon Cameron has been our guest. Up from
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  Speaker 1: the Ashes is the brand-new book available now here on Amazon. Sharon,
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  Speaker 1: congratulations to you again, and looking forward to having you
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  Speaker 1: back on the program in the future.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, please bring me back. It's so fun to talk
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  Speaker 2: to you. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate that. Thank you. And we think your audience
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  Speaker 1: are tuning in to another great segment of Cyrus Web Presents.
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  Speaker 1: Until next time, you all make it a great one.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you soon. Take care.