Irene Miller - Letters to Irene

Letters to Irene

A Letter of Thanks!

Christian Rasmussen

December 25, /2023

Hi Mrs. Miller!

I had the pleasure of hearing you speak at Greenville High School a few weeks ago. It has been a while since you spoke in Greenville, though I got to thinking about your talk tonight and I wanted to reach out to you to say thank you and to tell you that you profoundly impacted my view on life.

I pray very frequently for you and the speaking that you do. I am a Christian, and I know that you were previously (or maybe still are) practicing Judaism, though I noticed you have delivered your message in many Christian settings as well. Your message is a wonderful message of hope, and I pray for you in your journey of spreading this message throughout the world.

Thanks so much for speaking in Greenville and changing my life and my view of the world!

I hope someday to hear you speak again - happy holidays!

Christian.

Dear Irene,

Bless you for coming all this way to what turned out to be the "snowy" UP of Michigan to talk about your life and experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust. What you shared and the way you shared it will impact me for the rest of my life. You truly have a gift of sharing insight, wisdom, experience and lessons for humanity. I am still sitting with it all. Of course we all have been exposed in some measure to this dark history, however you are the first person I have heard speak who can share in such a way that you both rivet the listener and bring them in with you to the experience from your eyes as young and innocent child as well as relax the listener enough to allow the experience to soak in. You have a way with words and your manner is calming and strong with a blend of humor sprinkled in at times during such a sobering tale of your life. I am in awe of you and your strength, resilience and ultimate hope.

I left feeling empowered that we CAN make a difference in the fabric we try to build in our own communities to sew seeds of understanding, respect and possibility instead of seeds of mistrust, insecurity, and hatred.

We are, as many other communities across our nation, dealing with kids who are treating other kids with less than the full measure of humanity.

I am so grateful that I came in to Temple Jacob last night even though it was entirely full and I wormed my way into the stairwell of the balcony and listened to your voice tell your personal story. I am going to be forever grateful to you for surviving and sharing it with as many as you do. You are a beautiful witness to so many who were never able to survive to share and for us to learn from and never repeat or even come close.

Blessings to you. Please consider a return trip to the U.P. and we will try to promise better weather!

Cynthia Drake

"The best gift you can give others is the resolute embrace of your own truth." - Martha Beck

Cynthia Drake

Openings Life Coaching

cynthiamdrake@gmail.com

http://openingslifecoaching.com/

http://www.openingslifecoaching.com/blog/

eMerge Life Coach

www.emergecoachingservices.com

www.emergemilitaryservices.org

eMerge Military Services is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Irene, I am excited to see you in Traverse City in a month!

The positive impact club (which was inspired by a spark you ignited) is called TIGERS Unite and had 60 students attend our first/introductory meeting! The students already had some excellent ideas to spread kindness and accepted their first challenge of giving somebody a compliment everyday. Two students came up with a word of kindness wall with positive quotes and messages. I was so overwhelmed with the interest and contagion of these small acts of kindness.

You have made a tremendous impact on the students of Allegan. LE White students have accepted your challenge to spread kindness and are promoting tolerance!!. 💕

> On Sep 21, 2016, at 9:52 PM, irene miller <nomanslandmiller@gmail.com> wrote:

Good morning Irene,

I want to thank you so much for participating in our Constitution Day program last Friday. It was such an honor to meet you and to hear your amazing life story. I started reading your book on Friday evening and couldn’t put it down until I finished it on Sunday. I can’t tell you what an effect your story and book has had on me. You are truly a very special person and I am so happy that I was able to meet you.

This was our 11th year of hosting this program and I have never seen a group of students so attentive to our speaker. They were mesmerized by your talk and know that you have planted a seed that they will never forget. Hoping that they went home and talked to their parents about your talk and this will be the beginning of their enlightenment on this horrible part of our history..

Thank you again for coming and I hope our paths cross soon.

Karen

Karen Koshen

Court Resource and Program Specialist

Court Administration

Oakland County Circuit

I can not thank you enough for rearranging your schedule, coming here on short notice, and sharing such an important message with our students. I have had countless students coming to expressing their gratitude and amazement of your story and message. Students were deeply touched and have a new appreciation for the acceptance of each others differences. You were a wonderful speaker and easily captivated your audience. Thank you again very much for your time. We can not begin to express our gratitude.

I have discussed with the principal, Don Eastman, and we would love to invite you back next year to speak with a larger crowd. If you are willing, I will apply for a Distinguished Speaker Grant at the beginning of the year to provide you with a more appropriate honorarium. Please let me know if you are interested and we will reserve a speaking area which will accommodate a larger crowd.

Becky

(Gull Lake High School, Richland, MI)

.... I am so excited that so many students will have a copy of your book in their hand! I want you to know that your story has inspired several students. One of which, wants to have a day wherein the students focus on spreading kindness and wants to post sticky notes with positive messages on EVERY student's locker. I am so honored to have been a part of spreading such a powerful message through your story. Thank you for everything that you do and for making such an impact on our community. You truly are an amazing person,

God Bless you!!!!

Becky ( teacher in Allegan Middle School )

Dear Irene

I want to thank you so much for participating in our Constitution Day program last Friday. It was such an honor to meet you and to hear your amazing life story.

Thank you again for coming and I hope our paths cross soon.

Karen

Karen Koshen

Court Resource and Program Specialist

Court Administration

Oakland County Circuit

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