Episode #377: Giving Memories A Voice with Roni Robbins

May 6, 2025
Cheryl Ilov

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:29 — 59.0MB)

Roni Robbins is a journalist, writer, and author of the multiple award-winning debut novel titled “Hands of Gold: One Man’s Quest to Find the Silver Lining in Misfortune.”

Her highly acclaimed award-winning novel is loosely based on the inspiring true story pulled from the original cassette tapes left by her maternal grandfather, Sam, who managed to survive TB, a workplace shooting, an accidental killing, and walked thousands of miles across several countries to flee antisemitism in pre–Nazi Europe.

Roni shares how her aunt had given her grandfather a package of blank cassettes and encouraged him to record his life’s story and experiences to be passed down to future generations. That same aunt then gave the recordings to Roni, who eventually used the tapes to share her grandfather’s story with the world through her novel.

The book follows the life of Sam Fox across four countries, nine decades, and five generations. The story includes mystery, romance, heartache, tragedy, and triumph. It is a story of survival and strength. The strength of family, strength of life partners, and strength of the human spirit.

It is also a powerful message of not allowing obstacles to get in the way of achieving your goals, and how to keep pushing toward the finish line and not allowing anyone to try and talk you out of achieving them, not even yourself.

But most of all, it is a powerful reminder to share our stories with each other and with future generations, and the importance of giving memories a voice. Download this wonderful episode today, and share its positive message of faith, hope, and family with everyone you care about. Because memories do matter.