Sehnsucht: The Story of Grisch

By Lorraine Loewen Isaak

In my early years, I felt sadness in my Grandpa Grisch; it seemed to cling to him. What feelings could not do, however, was give me greater understanding into his inner world. Unknown to me, family had stored close to one hundred letters for over thirty years and these would pass into my hands the summer of 2019. Once transcribed from German into English these letters exposed the truth of what Grisch had carried over his lifetime and confirm what I felt but did not know.

The reader will bear witness, as Grisch did, of his family’s disorientation, trauma and loss that would take them to Kazakhstan and Paraguay while he lived a simple life on a small farm in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. Despite their separation, whether in years or experience, Grisch would never shake off a longing for what had been familiar, a place to call “home”.