When We See You Again

 New York Times Best Seller

About the Book

A searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength in the wake of unthinkable tragedy. Rachel Goldberg‑Polin shares the story of her son, Hersh, and the unimaginable journey that reshaped her life forever.

Before October 7th

A Life of Family, Community, and Purpose

Once upon a time, I was meandering down the road of life with my husband, Jon. It was a regular and beige life, and it worked. It was a warm beige. We felt, and were, blessed and lucky. Normal.

October 7th: The Day Everything Changed

The Attack and the Abduction of Hersh

On the morning of October 7th, 2023, Rachel Goldberg‑Polin’s beloved twenty‑three‑year‑old son, Hersh, was stolen from a music festival billed as a celebration of unity and love — and, in that moment, her life was forever separated into The Before and The After.

The 328‑Day Fight for Hersh’s Return

A Mother’s Relentless Public Battle

Over the next eleven months, she and her husband, Jon, would work tirelessly — in public and behind the scenes — to secure the hostages’ release, to breathe some humanity into the situation while they were experiencing relentless emotional and psychological torment.

Becoming the Face of the Hostage Crisis

The power of her raw and fervent pleas soon made her the face of the hostage crisis.

The Moment Hope Shattered

The Murder of Hersh and the Other Hostages

And when Hersh and five other captives were executed after surviving 328 days of violence and cruelty, she would also become the face of its ultimate cost.

Living With the Unbearable

Grief, Memory, and the Search for Meaning

In When We See You Again, Rachel pours her pain, love, and longing onto paper, giving voice to the broken among us, and reminding us that even when the world feels choked with darkness, light exists in a different way. “How do we find it?” she asks. Her experience is extreme, but at its essence, this is a universal story of trying to live with grief.

“There are days when I break completely,” she writes. “I have cried for an entire day straight… And then there are days when there is a whisper of sun. Not out there in the sky. In me. In us.”

A Universal Story of Love and Loss

Why This Book Matters

It is a story of how we remember and how we persevere, of how we suffer and how we love. A book that speaks to anyone who has ever faced loss, darkness, or the search for meaning.

About the Author: Rachel Goldberg‑Polin

Rachel Goldberg‑Polin is an Israeli‑American educator, activist, and mother whose voice became a symbol of courage and humanity during one of Israel’s darkest chapters. Her writing reflects deep emotional insight, moral clarity, and a relentless commitment to hope.