Zachor Society Event
Edith Eva Eger
Dr. Eger is a sought-after clinical psychologist and lecturer, helping individuals discard their limitations, discover their powers of self-renewal, and achieve things they previous thought unattainable. Using her past as a powerful analogy, she inspires people to tap their full potential and shape their very best destinies. Hers is a message of healing and personal growth. A message of freedom from self-imposed limitations. A message that helps people build character, deal effectively with life's events, and enrich the lives of others.
A native of Hungary, Edith Eva Eger was just 16 years old in 1944 when she experienced one of the worst evils the human race has ever known. As a Jew living in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, she and her family were sent to Auschwitz, the heinous death camp. Her parents lost their lives there. She and her sister survived even though they were subjected to the horrible medical experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele and survived the Death March from Poland to Austria. In May 1945, when the American Army liberated the Gunskirchen camp, Edith was near death. A young American soldier noticed her hand moving slightly amongst a number of dead bodies. He quickly summoned medical help and brought her and her sister back from the brink of death.
After the war, Edith moved to Czechoslovakia where she met the man she would marry. In 1949 they moved to the United States. In 1969 she received her degree in Psychology from the University of Texas, El Paso. She then pursued her doctoral internship at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, Texas. She has spent much of her professional time working with members of the military helping them to overcome and heal from PTSD. Dr. Eger has always found ways to use her personal experiences to inspire, educate and help others.
Dr. Eger is a prolific author and a member of several professional associations. She has appeared on numerous television programs including Oprah Winfrey and Larry King Now and was the primary subject of a holocaust documentary that appeared on Dutch National Television. She is frequently invited to make speaking engagements throughout the United States, as well as internationally. Dr. Eger has a clinical practice in La Jolla, California where she uses her past as a powerful analogy to inspire people to reach their potential and shape their destinies.
In the fall of 2017 at the age of 90, her memoir The Choice, Embrace the Possible was published. In her book, she details how the synergy of working with, and learning from, her patient’s perspectives allowed her to heal from her painful past. The book has received excellent reviews and been translated into nine languages. The New York Times Book Review wrote: “Eger’s book is a triumph, and should be read by all who care about both their inner freedom and the future of humanity.” As of March 2018, the book has received two book awards, one being from the national organization of the Jewish Book Council as well as from the The Christophers.
