Giselle Roeder is the author of several books, including ‘We Don’t Talk About That,‘ a memoir about her idyllic childhood and the horrific experiences during the Russian invasion, rape and murder family’s survival after WWII.She describes three decades of her “life in three Germanys”: First as a child under Nazi rule, then as a teenager growing up in Communist East Germany, and, following her daring escape, life in the West where she had to start all over again. In “Flight Into The Unknown,” the sequel to the first book, she tells us the story of her marriage to an (unknown) penfriend from Canada, her immigration, her life as a wife and mother to two stepdaughters and later on a son. Her trials and tribulations, the ups and downs of an immigrant with only a rudimentary knowledge of the English language, and her success in overcoming all obstacles are nothing short of inspiring. Despite all odds and never giving up, Giselle became a successful businesswoman and international speaker. Her husband started an affair, which led to their divorce. She lost everything she had built up in twenty years of marriage. Another beginning and for the reader, another book, the final of her memoirs: “Set Sail for Life After 50” These three books form a ‘trilogy,’ “The Nine Lives of Gila:” 1. We Don’t Talk About That, surviving WWII and its aftermath. 2. Flight Into the Unknown – Dreaming of Life and Love in Canada. An immigrant’s story. (two shows) 3. Set Sail for Life After 50 – Another new beginning after a divorce, lots of travel and ending with retirement. Coming soon.
Giselle’s Mother and sisters.
Please be advised that this conversationin the first show contains difficult and graphic accounts of war, torture, rape, murder, starvation and violence against adults and children. Please listen with care and discretion.
I have found Giselle’s storytelling to be not only informative about the horrors of World War II, but also a remarkable journey of courage, strength, resilience, and adaptability. She is an extraordinary woman who shows us that we can overcome almost anything with the right attitude and truly discover what we are capable of when we choose to rise above our circumstances.Sara Troy, podcast host.
Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Giselle Roeder. On air fromSeptember 15th
Giselle Roeder is the author of several books, including ‘We Don’t Talk About That,‘ a memoir about her idyllic childhood and the horrific experiences during the Russian invasion, rape and murder family’s survival after WWII. She describes three decades of her “life in three Germanys”: First as a child under Nazi rule, then as a teenager growing up in Communist East Germany, and, following her daring escape, life in the West where she had to start all over again. In “Flight Into The Unknown,” the sequel to the first book, she tells us the story of her marriage to an (unknown) penfriend from Canada, her immigration, her life as a wife and mother to two stepdaughters and later on a son. Her trials and tribulations, the ups and downs of an immigrant with only a rudimentary knowledge of the English language, and her success in overcoming all obstacles are nothing short of inspiring. Despite all odds and never giving up, Giselle became a successful businesswoman and international speaker. Her husband started an affair, which led to their divorce. She lost everything she had built up in twenty years of marriage. Another beginning and for the reader, another book, the final of her memoirs: “Set Sail for Life After 50” These three books form a ‘trilogy,’ “The Nine Lives of Gila:” 1. We Don’t Talk About That, surviving WWII and its aftermath. 2. Flight Into the Unknown – Dreaming of Life and Love in Canada. An immigrant’s story. (two shows) 3. Set Sail for Life After 50 – Another new beginning after a divorce, lots of travel and ending with retirement. Coming soon.
Giselle Roeder is the author of four books: two about healthy living, followed by “Forget Me Not,” A Bouquet of Stories, Thoughts, and Memories about people who influenced her life, and last but not least, the memoir that went around the world:
“We Don’t Talk About That” – covering the riveting story of surviving WW II during her first thirty years.
Giselle is now working on the sequel, writing about her life in Canada.
Following her emigration to Canada in 1963, Giselle succeeded in business, was interviewed on radio stations across the country, hosted her own Television Show for 9 years, and became well-known as an international public speaker in the developing field of alternative health.
Today, she will tell us about her life under different political systems:
Ten years as a child under Nazi rule –
Ten years as a teenager growing up in Communist East Germany –
Her life as a young adult in Capitalist West Germany after she escaped from East Germany.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Giselle Roeder. On air from SEPTEMBER 1ST
Please be advised that this conversation contains difficult and graphic accounts of war, torture, rape, murder, starvation and violence against adults and children. Please listen with care and discretion.
Giselle’s Memoir developed into a trilogy. As stated in Nanaimo Magazine, “Giselle had one hell of a life.” It was impossible to fit into an ordinary book without becoming one with a thousand pages. Smiling, Giselle says, the book title could be “The Nine Lives of Gila.”
The first book, “We Don’t Talk About That,” is a riveting story of surviving WWII and its aftermath. It reads more like history rather than a memoir. It begins after WWI and outlines changes in the social makeup of many European countries, particularly post-war Germany. Unemployment and staggering inflation, where half a loaf of bread cost billions and two beers a mere one-hundred billion led to the rise of Adolf Hitler, an Austrian man. He promised work and bread and kept his promises. The following years brought an upswing in life but also carried Germany into WWII. The invasion of Eastern Germany by the Russian army brought horror with unspeakable atrocities to ordinary people. Most survivors’ attitude is “we don’t talk about that.” Part 1 of the shows with Giselle.
Gila’s life turned tragic when the fighting approached her neighbourhood. Rape, murder and hunger were part of everyday life. The Russians took her father and every 16 to 60-year-old non-disabled person to Siberia. The rest of the population, including Gila’s mother and her siblings, were evicted. They joined the trek of thousands on the road to nowhere.’ Gila was witness to gruesome acts of violence, aging her beyond her years. She barely survived diphtheria while on the road. Months later, recovering from typhoid fever, she took responsibility for her three siblings while her mother worked. Despite her interrupted schooling due to circumstances beyond her control, Gila’s determination enabled her to become a Physical Education teacher. Gila lived the first ten years of her life under the Nazis and her teenage years under communist rule. Germany’s division into East and West, with its political ramifications, forced her to escape to West Germany. Gila’s story is one of heartache, courage, pain, love, and longing for liberation.
The second book, “Flight Into The Unknown,” deals with Gila’s life in the West. She came across an ad placed by a former German man living in Canada. He looked for a new mommy for his four-year-old daughter. Intrigued, she wrote a reply, never expecting a response. A large envelope with several ‘Beautiful British Columbia’ magazines, a letter, and photographs arrived. The Canadian man’s father, a lawyer, called. “My son is not a fly-by-night. ” Gila visited the lawyer’s family. Three months later, she got ‘engaged’ by telephone. While on holiday, the lawyer and his wife organized the wedding without ever asking Gila.
Gila did not know how to disentangle herself. She left Germany seven months after answering the ad and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. She soon realized she had made the biggest mistake of her life. Her husband used her money to pay his debts. Gila had been blinded by his well-to-do parents, thinking, ‘the apple does not fall far from the tree.’ She made the best of it and took English classes, feeling lost without mastering the language. Five months later, they moved to Winnipeg. Gila welcomed a second stepdaughter and gave birth to a son the same year. The baby kept the family together. After a bankruptcy, Gila lost her drive for life and faced suicide. She couldn’t do it because of her little boy. Her husband told her, “Their mother left the girls, and if you do that, you’ll ruin them for life.” Trials and tribulations were constant companions. After twenty years of marriage, raising the kids, and finally succeeding in her own business, the husband had an affair, leading to a nasty divorce. Gila lost everything and moved back to Vancouver, hoping to start a new life. Coming September 15th
“Set Sail for Life After 50,” the trilogy’s final book, deals with being single again and new beginnings. This book is a work in progress. To follow
Content Warning: This story contains accounts of horrific cruelty inflicted upon East German civilians. Although these painful truths need to be heard, some details may be deeply disturbing. Please listen with care.
Giselle Roeder is the author of four books: two about healthy living, followed by “Forget Me Not,” A Bouquet of Stories, Thoughts, and Memories about people who influenced her life, and last but not least, the memoir that went around the world:
“We Don’t Talk About That” – covering the riveting story of surviving WW II during her first thirty years.
Giselle sequel, writing about her life in Canada. Following her emigration to Canada in 1963, Giselle succeeded in business, was interviewed on radio stations across the country, hosted her own Television Show for 9 years, and became well-known as an international public speaker in the developing field of alternative health.
Today, she will tell us about her life under different political systems:
Ten years as a child under Nazi rule –
Ten years as a teenager growing up in Communist East Germany –
Her life as a young adult in Capitalist West Germany after she escaped from East Germany.
Giselles next show on living in East & West Germany then on to Canada
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guests David Kaye and Elle. On air from August 4th
“Did you know wind makes sound?”
After being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and a rare genetic variation, Ella Coonen learned that she would eventually lose her hearing completely. In early 2025, she received her first hearing aids and, for the first time, heard the world as others do. Knowing time was limited, Ella created a bucket list of sounds she wished to experience for the first—and perhaps last—time. This film follows her moving journey to fill her heart with the beauty of sound while she still has the chance.
Ella Coonen is a recent high school graduate living life with profound hearing loss and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She has spent the last year going on a journey of sound discovery. David Kaye is a filmmaker and longtime family friend of Ella and her mother. He has had films in festivals throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and Australia. The Sound of a Bucket List is his first feature.
Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Valentina Pinzon, on air from June 16th
Our mission is to honour and support ancestral wisdom through Indigenous-made and sustainably grown cultural offerings from Colombia, Peru, and Mexico. We share ceremonial tools, statement jewellery, organic edibles, and sacred creations that invite people into deeper self-awareness, connection, and appreciation of ancestral cultures.
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Hello, Hola! I’m Valentina Pinzon, I am originally from Colombia and have been living in Canada since 2008, but my passion for indigenous culture and traditions has been with me for decades. ? This inspiration led me to establish IndiArts Collective, allowing me to honor and support these remarkable communities. I feel incredibly fortunate to engage in such meaningful work.
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Self Discovery Wisdom is sustained by those who believe in conscious conversation. If this episode resonated with you, subscribe and, if you feel called, make a donation. Your support helps us keep amplifying voices that inspire growth, courage, and compassion. Thank you. Please join Our Forgotten Seniorsanthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
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