An idyllic childhood in Munkacz, where Torah and chassidus permeated every aspect of Jewish, and even general, life. A sudden automobile accident on a New York highway -- and a heroic, loving wife who risks her own life to save her husband.

Sandwiched between these powerful and life-shaping memories, are the traumatic war years -- a family uprooted, loved ones torn away from one another, the incredible and uplifting story of how two sisters keep one another alive.

In Beyond the Tracks, Ruth Mermelstein shares a life filled with love, loyalty and valor. She is a courageous woman who never gave in to despair, whether in a slave labor camp, a hospital operating theater, or a wrecked car submerged in water.

Her story is warm and moving, as she grows from a model daughter into a loving mother and wife, establishing in the New World a future based on Torah and gemilas chessed.

This is one of those books that leave the reader with a warm glow, long after he puts it down. We take Ruth Mermelstein to our hearts and remain with the confident feeling that the Jewish People is indeed indomitable. This is more than a story of one woman’s survival -- it encompasses the survival of an entire nation.