ELEANOR’S STORY

Life After War

Written and Performed by Ingrid Garner

Ingrid Garner, 16-time award-winning creator of Eleanor's Story: An American Girl In Hitler's Germany returns with a timely sequel to her grandmother’s acclaimed memoir. In 1946, teenage Eleanor has managed to survive WWII as an enemy alien caught in Berlin. But upon her long-awaited return home, she struggles to navigate U.S. high school while haunted by war memories.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder serves as a theatrical device to contrast a plentiful America with Eleanor's flashbacks of a ravaged Germany. Despite her newfound safety, an innocent sound or word can trigger a terrible recollection. The performance offers a fascinating look at the intricacies of coping with trauma, survivor’s guilt, family separation, and culture shock. While it presents a unique perspective (an American returning home after coming of age in a war zone) Eleanor’s struggle to assimilate into a peaceful society is all too familiar for today’s international refugees. The war may be over, but the battle within has just begun.

*It is not necessary to have seen the original show to enjoy this sequel.