Since childhood, author Fiona Gold Kroll has been drawn to a photograph of her great-uncle, Benjamin Albaum, a Jewish man who disappeared from Paris at the beginning of World War II. A Stone for Benjamin is the compelling story of Fiona’s quest to discover his fate. Chasing Holocaust shadows across Europe and beyond, Fiona begins her powerful journey searching for clues with nothing more than a misspelled name, old photographs and family stories. Determined to uncover the truth about Benjamin’s life and death and France’s betrayal of its Jewish population, Fiona pieces together her great-uncle’s life, elevating Benjamin’s legacy from a number tattooed on his arm at Auschwitz to a more complete memory of the vibrant man he was.

“Kroll’s prose is eloquent and evocative, and her writing is admirably self-aware … A detailed examination of a Holocaust victim’s life and a considerate, thought-provoking look into why Holocaust narratives are important.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Amazing Book. A Stone for Benjamin is an honest and frank look at the author's search for answers into her great-uncle's disappearance. Every page was well-written, made better by the fact that this is not a work of fiction, as so many books like these often are. I have to say, this one of the best nonfiction works I have read in a long time, and I plan on revisiting this book again in the future...My hat is off to you author Fiona Gold Kroll, this was one outstanding read.” - Goodreads reader, June 2014.

“Fiona Gold Kroll has written a gripping story, which in profound manner is itself a thoughtful gesture and a tender caress to the memory of someone she never met…. Kroll writes in a forthright manner: spare with narrative, precise with description. And if we could only follow Kroll’s example…we too will have helped sanctify, for eternity, the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.” – The Canadian Jewish News

Fiona Gold Kroll was born in London, England, where she attended university before immigrating to Toronto in the 1960s. Fiona worked as a fashion buyer until she married and had two children. After the death of her husband, she pursued a career in corporate research. In her spare time, Fiona began investigating her family tree. Fiona wrote a summary about her great-uncle, which was published in Un train parmi tant d’autres, a French memoir about Auschwitz-destined Convoy 6. Fiona later published a short story, “The Butterfly Effect,” in 2013. A Stone for Benjamin is her first book. Happily remarried, Fiona continues to write in Thornhill, Ontario.

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