Essay: PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON

On a crisp, sunny, winter day in 1997, I was sitting in the luxurious office of a Washington, DC, power broker, when his administrative assistant intruded on our conversation. “Excuse me for interrupting, sir,” she said, “but Mr. Erskine Bowles is on the phone for you.” I knew that Bowles was the White House Chief…

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Childhood Treasures

When the Germans gave us twenty-four hours to clear out of our home and to take only that which we could carry, my toys were not among the necessities Mother and Dědeček packed. Thus, I landed on the Tůma farm a four-year-old without his trucks, tin soldiers, and miniature sailboats. However, my ever-thoughtful mother made…

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Another honor for COWBOY FROM PRAGUE

Feathered Quill just announced their book award winners for 2022. COWBOY FROM PRAGUE: AN IMMIGRANT’S PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM was selected as a Reviewer’s Choice winner.  Reviewer Katie Specht wrote: “With this memoir, Heller has penned a poignant, compelling story of his grit and determination to make the most of his life, even during…

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Reading on Monday, January 9, 2023

I have been selected by Atmosphere Press—along with authors John Lipman and Kristin Rohman Rehkamp—to participate in a Memoir & Biography Reading to an online audience via Zoom. The one-hour program will take place on Monday, January 9, at 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Each author will read a passage from his/her latest book (in…

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Review of COWBOY FROM PRAGUE–Midwest Book Review

REVIEW BY DIANE DONOVAN, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW “Goddamn immigrant!” Charles Ota Heller heard these words of hate in high school … in the land of the free, after he and his parents narrowly escaped the brutal Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. It was an endeavor that moved them from living a life of wealth to arriving…

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New York Times story by Talia Dauer

Student Contest Winner: Hidden Child, Hidden Identity Charles Heller learned he was part Jewish only after his relatives began to disappear. Give this article 9 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/learning/student-contest-winner-the-story-of-a-holocaust-survivor.html Charles Heller in his home office. “I didn’t know what a Jew was,” he said. “But our household was full of Jewish men.” Credit…Talia Dauer By The Learning Network Published May…

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Mr. Iba

The following is another excerpt from my upcoming memoir, COWBOY FROM PRAGUE: AN IMMIGRANT’S PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM, to be published by Atmosphere Press in late spring/early summer: It was February of my junior year at Oklahoma State University. As always on non-game weekdays during basketball season, I walked into Gallagher Hall at 3:15 pm…

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“I Am From…”

The following is another excerpt from my upcoming memoir, COWBOY FROM PRAGUE: AN IMMIGRANT’S PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. This one is a poem that constitutes the book’s Introduction: I am from a far-off land, Once called Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic. I am from a small village called Kojetice, And I am from a glorious…

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