WE SHARE THE SAME SKY
PRESS KIT
WE SHARE THE SAME SKY is a transmedia project from Rachael Cerrotti that retells the story of her decade-long journey to retrace her grandmother’s wartime history. The project explores how the retelling of family history becomes the history itself.
BOOK HIGHLIGHTS
WE SHARE THE SAME SKY was published in 2021 by Blackstone Publishing. The hardcover was released first with the paperback coming out in 2022. In summer 2025, a second edition of the paperback will be released with new photographs and a new cover.
• Winner of Maine Literary Award, memoir category
• Shortlisted for William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, non-fiction
• Received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly: Read Here
• Listed as one of the “Best Books of August” by Apple Books
• Audible read by author Rachael Cerrotti
• Foreword by Stephen D. Smith, Finci-Viterbi Endowed Executive Director of USC Shoah Foundation
• Paired with discussion questions & classroom resources
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS
The WE SHARE THE SAME SKY podcast preceded the book; it was released in 2019 as a collaboration with USC Shoah Foundation. It has been downloaded more than 350k times in 184 countries.
• Listed as one of the Best Podcasts of 2019 by HuffPost
• Selected as a “Reader Pick” for Vulture of New York Magazine
• Runner up in the Prose Category for Miller Audio Prize
• Listed by for 6 consecutive months as a “Show We Love” by Apple Podcasts
• First-ever narrative podcast based off of a Holocaust Survivor’s Testimony and first-ever podcast presented by USC Shoah Foundation
• Supported with classroom materials developed by USC Shoah Foundation’s IWitness and Echoes & Reflections, and taught in classrooms around the world
EXHIBITIONS
We Share The Same Sky is rooted in an archive left behind by Rachael’s grandmother, Hana Dubová. The story comes alive with printed photographs, artifacts and audio/visual testimony. Exhibitions have included:
• 2025, Maine Jewish Museum in Portland: photography exhibition
• 2023, The Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida: WE SHARE THE SAME SKY was adapted for a 2200 square foot exhibition. The exhibition is available to visit other museums.
• 2022, Temple Israel of Hollywood in Los Angeles: solo photography exhibition
QUICK LINKS
Reviews: www.rachaelcerrotti.com/book
Book tour/public programming: http://www.rachaelcerrotti.com/speaking
Rachael’s bio: www.rachaelcerrotti.com/about
Substack: www.rachaelcerrotti.substack.com
We Share The Same Sky website: www.sharethesamesky.com
BOOK DESCRIPTION
In 2009, Rachael Cerrotti, a college student pursuing a career in photojournalism, asked her grandmother, Hana, if she could record her story. Rachael knew that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and the only one in her family alive at the end of the war. Rachael also knew that she survived because of the kindness of strangers. It wasn't a secret. Hana spoke about her history publicly and regularly. But, Rachael wanted to document it as only a granddaughter could. So, that's what they did: Hana talked and Rachael wrote.
Upon Hana's passing in 2010, Rachael discovered an incredible archive of her life. There were preserved albums and hundreds of photographs dating back to the 1920s. There were letters waiting to be translated, journals, diaries, deportation and immigration papers as well as creative writings from various stages of Hana's life.
Rachael digitized and organized it all, plucking it from the past and placing it into her present. Then, she began retracing her grandmother's story, following her through Central Europe, Scandinavia, and across the United States. She tracked down the descendants of those who helped save her grandmother's life during the war. Rachael went in pursuit of her grandmother's memory to explore how the retelling of family stories becomes the history itself.
We Share the Same Sky weaves together the stories of these two young women--Hana as a refugee who remains one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and Rachael, whose insatiable curiosity to touch the past guides her into the lives of countless strangers, bringing her love and tragic loss. Throughout the course of her twenties, Hana's history becomes a guidebook for Rachael in how to live a life empowered by grief.