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Jennifer Holik

Born: in Chicago suburbs
Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Holik's family has always lived in Chicago since they emigrated from Europe. She was born in the Chicago suburbs and spent many years growing up in Missouri. She graduated with a BA in History from the Missouri University of Science and Technology and then returned to the Chicago area. Her military books have focused on her Chicago relatives who served in World War I and World War II.

Biography: Jennifer Holik helps people identify and release ancestral beliefs, behaviors, patterns, and traumas that hold them back from creating their most abundant, amazing life. As a young child Jennifer knew she was here to help transform the world. She's always been the quiet weird outsider who observed and stood witness to the silent suffering of humanity. She's a cosmic intuitive puzzle master, seeing and feeling what lies beyond the veil. This enables her to identify repeating patterns, connect the dots and piece the complex puzzle of our individual and collective stories together. These gifts have allowed her to heal some deep ancestral traumas and end toxic cycles in her family. Guided by my military ancestors, more than 25 years ago, Jennifer stepped on the family & military history research trail. That journey allowed her to connect more deeply with her ancestors, spirit guides, angels, and others beyond the veil. She created a genealogy business which quickly transformed into a military research, speaking, and writing business. Explore military research articles, videos, records, resources, and her books at the WWII Research & Writing Center. https://wwiirwc.com. By 2015 Jennifer's healing journey & military work allowed her to live and travel in Europe and create a life both in Chicago and near Amsterdam. She became embedded in Dutch society, life, relationships, healthcare, politics, and culture. For several years she was married to a Dutch man who lived with cancer and other life-threatening health issues. She developed PTSD as she traversed the layers of his health issues in addition to living two different lives on two continents, while facing her own triggers and ancestral patterns. They were so energetically connected, that as she accompanied him on his journey as he moved closer to death, she also faced issues of grief, compassion fatigue, caregiver responsibilities, and how she would survive and thrive after the relationship ended. Identifying the ancestral patterns, she was living with him helped her heal and move forward after the relationship ended and he died. In Europe, Jennifer visited battlefields & burial sites, religious & cultural sites, heard family & war stories, some of which brought her to her knees in grief as she channeled the people telling the stories. She understands history, context, and perspectives that many people do not. This makes her unique in the way she can help clients heal on both sides of the ocean to explore their personal & ancestral family patterns & war trauma. Jennifer is excited to help you discover the stories of your ancestors and heal.


Awards:

Primary Literary Genre(s): History; Non-Fiction

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers; Children; Young adult readers

Blog: https://www.ancestralsoulswisdomschool.com/blog
E-Mail: jennifer@ancestralsouls.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ancestralsouls
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferholik/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenholik
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jencoffeelover/
Web: https://wwiiresearchandwritingcenter.com/
Web: https://www.ancestralsoulswisdomschool.com/
Web: http://jenniferholik.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeBn3C12Lns


Selected Titles

Branching Out: Genealogy for 1st - 3rd Grade
ISBN: 1938226143 OCLC: 879337577

Parents and teachers looking for a how-to genealogy book for 1st – 3rd grade children need to look no further. Branching Out provides parents and teachers with the tools they need to teach genealogical research skills to younger children. Through thirty fun and educational lessons, children will learn the foundations of genealogy and how to begin research on a level that they can understand and enjoy. Each lesson contains a clearly defined goal, all necessary vocabulary, additional reading assignments, and lesson and homework assignments to extend understanding of the concept.

Branching Out: Genealogy for 4th-8th Grade Students: Lessons 1-30
ISBN: 1938226151 OCLC: 798263375

Generations, Woodridge, Ill. : ©2012.

Thirty lessons that introduce genealogy and teach genealogical research skills to middle grade students, and include lesson goals, vocabulary, additional reading assignments, and lesson and homework assignments.

Branching Out: Genealogy for Adults
ISBN: 1938226135 OCLC: 812289829

Generations, Woodridge, Ill. : ©2012.

Adults looking for a how-to genealogy book need to look no further. Branching Out provides the tools they need to learn genealogical research skills. Through thirty fun and educational lessons, adults will learn the foundations of genealogy and how to begin research. Each lesson contains a clearly defined goal, all necessary vocabulary, additional reading assignments, and lesson and homework assignments to extend understanding of the concept.

Branching Out: Genealogy for High School Students: Lessons 1-30
ISBN: 193822616X OCLC: 810330117

Generations, Woodridge, Ill. : ©2012.

Parents and teachers looking for a how-to genealogy book for high school students need to look no further. In Branching Out, a new series available from Generations, author and professional genealogist Jennifer Holik provides parents and teachers with the tools they need to teach genealogical research skills to younger children. Through thirty fun and educational lessons, children will learn the foundations of genealogy and how to begin research on a level that they can understand and enjoy. Each lesson contains a clearly defined goal, all necessary vocabulary, additional reading assignments, and lesson and homework assignments to extend understanding of the concept.

Choosing You First: A Caregiver's Journal
ISBN: 193822664X OCLC:

Finding the Answers Journey 2019

Do you feel overwhelmed as a caregiver and are not sure where to turn for support and strength? Are you aware what you require is energetically inside of you rather than only available from outside sources? Did you know you can choose you first and create your life even within the parameters of what currently “is” your life? Are you aware that by choosing you first, you can more often remain in a positive energetic state, even while providing care in challenging circumstances? If you feel overwhelmed, I understand, and I can help. I have been where you are a couple of times and am going through my third round that will have no fairy tale happy ending. Knowing the stresses we face as caregivers and the limited time we have for our self-care, I designed this journal to help you focus on the positive aspects of your life, your transformative periods, how you are creating your reality, and to celebrate your successes. There is no room here for the negative. In this six-month journal, my wish for you with this journal, is that you consciously choose yourself first and flow more easily into the energy of what is possible, leaving behind the energy of constant stress and negativity. The more you consciously choose for you, the faster your life will transform. The unknown will not feel as scary and you will be able to flow more with the energy rather than resist and react in unhealthy ways. Finally, remember to celebrate your successes, large and small. We can create a different possibility for our life when we consciously create and choose for ourselves.

Engaging the next generation :
ISBN: 1938226062 OCLC: 812168785

'Engaging the Next Generation' is written specifically for groups looking to create youth programs. This is a two-part book featuring one-hour and half-day youth program examples and the complete 4th-8th grade branching out set of thirty lessons. Part I allows genealogy societies and libraries to create youth programs based on example outlines, example speaking text, and project ideas in the book. Part II allows genealogy societies and libraries to buile larger programs using the thirty lessons provided in the branching out series. Part II can also be used to teach beginning genealogy in public schools.

Finding the Answers in the Individual Deceased Personnel File
ISBN: 1938226437 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Finding the Answers. This is what each person who starts WWII research hopes to accomplish. We often begin with many questions, to which answers are often elusive. This is often the case when those questions concern those who died in the war or are still considered Missing In Action (MIA). Who do we ask about our family member’s service, especially when most of our WWII-era family members are gone? What records exist to help find the answers? The Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) is the most important file you need to help you find the answers to your questions regarding those who died in service. The IDPF documents the death, and temporary and final burial details, of WWII service members from all military branches. This quick guide introduces you: • What the IDPF is and is not. • To the questions about military service and death you may be able to answer through the pages of this file. • The history of the men who created the records. • Information on obtaining the file and other records. • Where to go to learn more. Are you ready to Find the Answers about your family’s war dead?

Finding the Answers Through WWII Writing
ISBN: 1938226577 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Stories have the power to transform us. Throughout our lives, the stories we have heard may shape our identity. They may shape the perspective we have on life, the past, present, and future, ourselves, and those we love. Stories may raise questions about the war, family secrets, those who were lost, and things we discover through our research. Take a walk with me for five weeks, through a WWII family story. Each week you will receive access to a new module to help you explore your family & military stories. The target of this course is help you put a story on paper and view it from multiple perspectives to see how you, your family, and the story have grown, found answers, peace, and closure. Finally, you will have the opportunity to witness the changes in one of my stories as I vulnerably talk about moments in my life.

Finding the Answers: Discovering World War II Service Online
ISBN: 1938226488 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Finding the Answers. This is what each person who starts WWII research hopes to accomplish. We often begin with many questions, to which answers are often elusive. The most logical place to search for answers to our World War II questions is online. There is a common misconception that all military records exist online. While many records are digitized and placed on line each day, the fact is, most of the records required are in paper format in repositories and archives. Requiring records that exist only on paper may leave you wondering, what can I find online? How can I find information easily? This quick guide introduces you to: • Reasons to research WWII service online. • What records may be available online. • Techniques to make searching easier. • A research form to track websites you’ve visited. • A sample of websites on which you can find information. • Checklist of specific databases and indexes. • Where to go to learn more. Are you ready to Find the Answers about your family’s military service online?

Finding the Answers: Researching Women in World War II
ISBN: 193822650X OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Finding the Answers. Are you seeking answers to questions about your family’s female World War II service member or civilian worker? Women played crucial roles during World War II after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Men felt an obligation to join the military and rushed to enlist. Enlistment and later the draft, required men to vacate jobs on the home front. As a result, women were recruited and trained to take over jobs left by men. The military also began programs for women to volunteer to aid the war effort, or in some cases, join the military as enlisted personnel and officers. This quick guide introduces you to: • A brief history of the shift of roles women played at home and in service. • Histories of the components of each military branch in which women served. • Histories of the civilian organizations in which women served • Tips for locating information to begin a search for records with checklists. Are you ready to start searching for information on your female service member?

Finding the Answers: Researching World War II Army Service Part 1
ISBN: 1938226534 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Have you ever attempted World War II research or read any recommended beginning genealogy book and hit a brick wall because of the lack of records available online, or because all the records burned? Researchers have been conditioned through many books and websites to believe there is no way to research a soldier’s service if the records burned in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Researching the service of a World War II soldier can take many winding paths, and there are many starting points from which the research and analysis can begin. However, before we can begin our journey and learn the first part of the research strategy, we must first understand some of the roadblocks and questions that arise during research. This quick guide introduces you: • Part one of the research strategy. • Resources you can use to locate information. • How to request military records. • Where to find records. • Records used to reconstruct service history. Are you ready to research your soldier’s service?

Finding the Answers: Starting World War II Research
ISBN: 1938226496 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

World War II research is surrounded by stories and myths which often give people the perception they cannot obtain any information about military service. • Have you heard, ‘All the records burned!’ • Have you read on a website that you must be the next-of-kin to receive information? • Do you think sending in one form to request records gives you everything available? • Do you know there are additional records at NPRC, that staff will not search for you, that are required for Army and Army Air Forces research? • Do you think starting your search in unit records will provide all the answers? Did you know there are many records available you can obtain by visiting the archives or hiring a research firm like mine? Records the archives will not search for you to reconstruct service history? If records exist, what is the problem? Why haven’t researchers and family members been able to reconstruct service history easily on their own? The problem is, any books or guides produced by military museums, archives, libraries, and other groups, talk only about the fire, what you cannot get, and a few major record sources. Usually these materials stress searching unit level records, which is not the place to start research. None of these guides explains through a process, how to use other resources and records to reconstruct service history for all branches. In this guide you will learn everything you need to know to start your World War II research, even if the records burned. Armed with the information you discover, you can find the answers to your military research questions.

Finding the Answers: World War II Travel in Europe
ISBN: 1938226518 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Congratulations with taking a first step on a journey to learn more about your World War II soldier’s, sailor’s, airman’s, or Marine’s military service and walk in their footsteps in Europe. World War II travel is done for many reasons. There are people who enjoy seeing the major battle sites and hearing history of the more famous units who helped win the war. Veterans still travel to Europe to walk where they fought, meet old friends and make new ones, and attend commemorative events. There are some who unexpectedly end up at a cemetery or battlefield and take an interest in the war. Finally, there are many who travel to heal their souls and find answers or closure to questions they have had about their father or mother’s service. Whatever your reason for World War II travel, I invite you to be open to anything that shows up on your journey. This quick guide introduces you to: • Doing your homework. Helping you learn about your service member’s history prior to travel. • Trip planning tips. • Considerations for hiring a travel agent, traveling with a tour group, or traveling on your own. • Learning about living history in Europe. • Ways to preserve the details and memories of your trip. • Ways to contribute to preserving World War II history in Europe. Are you ready to travel in your soldier’s footsteps in Europe?

Finding the Answers:: Researching World War II Army Service Part 2
ISBN: 1938226550 OCLC:

World War II Research and Writing Center 2018

Have you ever attempted World War II research or read any recommended beginning genealogy book and hit a brick wall because of the lack of records available online, or because all the records burned? Researchers have been conditioned through many books and websites to believe there is no way to research a soldier’s service if the records burned in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Researching the service of a World War II soldier can take many winding paths, and there are many starting points from which the research and analysis can begin. However, before we can begin our journey and learn the second part of the research strategy, we must first understand some of the roadblocks and questions that arise during research. This book is a continuation of Finding the Answers: Researching World War II Army Service Part 1. This quick guide introduces you: • Part two of the research strategy. • Resources you can use to locate information. • An exploration of basic Army unit records. • Exploration of life after the war for men and women. • Resources for records created after the war. Are you ready to research your soldier’s service?

I Bring Dead Guys Home: A Memoir
ISBN: 1938226658 OCLC:

Finding the Answers Journey 2019

I never envisioned in my wildest imagination, a life like the one I have. Who creates a life like this on two continents? Who transforms their reality, business, and life, multiple times in only a few years? Who sticks around when the unimaginable happens right after you meet someone? Jennifer Holik chose a new path in June 2012 when she moved out with her boys and filed for divorce. She did not expect that six months later, when she acknowledged her spiritual gifts, her entire life would transform. Several dead guys, primarily World War I and World War II service members, had already shown up in Jennifer’s world. Many others entered her life at the exact moment they were required. Listening to their whispers, Jennifer followed the energy and created a life and business no one she knew had dared to create. Travel through time and space, across the ocean, and through Europe, where love knows no boundaries. On this journey, Jennifer explores the choices she made and lessons she learned, to create a life she never dreamed possible. Discover how the dead guys she brought home guided her life, helped her grow and change, brought healing to their own families, and introduced her to her Knight in Shining Armor. Not all fairy tales have a happy ending. Or do they? A month after they met, the Knight and his Lady experienced a life altering event they never expected, that changed everything. This is a story written in two parts, a journey through time and space with her soldiers and a caregiver story, woven together in love. This book has two primary themes: choice and creating your life. Within those themes I tell two primary stories. One of my initial choice to end my marriage and create my business and life in a different way. This led to my traveling in the footsteps of a WWII family member who died in service in Europe. That led to meeting the man who would be my husband. The second story is about the choice I made when I met this man and the health issues that followed. I discuss the good, bad, and ugly about my caregiving journey in this part, along with the choices I made to create my life even amidst difficult times. Readers will receive what calls to their heart and soul as they read the book. I have discovered that many readers receive more from one part of the book, rather than the whole. Jennifer's story is one of transformation, strength, choice, a deep desire to heal my soul no matter what it takes, self-love, awareness, and a continuous exploration of the past to create a better present and future.

Stories from the Battlefield: A Beginning Guide to World War II Research
ISBN: 1499754299 OCLC: 891987727

All the records burned! We hear this over and over when we think about World War II research. Yet there are many records and resources available to get you started. In this short guide, you will learn the basics of World War II military research and what to look for in your home sources. Then we will explore components of personnel files, death records, and other associated records in this short book. This guide is meant to be a starting point for World War II research, not an exhaustive examination of all the military branches and records available. For an in-depth examination on World War II records, check out my Stories from the World War II Battlefield Volume I: Reconstructing Army, Air Corps, and National Guard Service.

Stories from the World War II Battlefield: Navigating Army, Air Corps, and National Guard Service Records
ISBN: 1938226305 OCLC:

Generations 2015

"ALL THE RECORDS BURNED!" Have you heard that phrase regarding the status of Army, Air Corps, and National Guard records from World War II? Roughly 80% of these records did burn in a fire in 1973. This is not however, the end of the road for researchers. Many other record sources exist to reconstruct the service history of a World War II soldier. All the tools researchers need to start exploring their World War II soldier's service are included in this volume. The tools include: • The basics of starting research. • Tips for online and offline military research. Instructions for ordering the Official Military Personnel File and collateral records to reconstruct service history. • Tips on researching the service history of women who served in the Army and Air Corps. • And, tips for placing the soldier into historical context using higher level records. Through dozens of examples, checklists, and document images, researchers are taught how to analyze the Official Military Personnel File, records created for the Missing, the Prisoners, and the Dead, and numerous other records which may help reconstruct the service history. This is the most important reference guide researchers need to begin researching and writing the story of their Army, Air Corps, and National Guard World War II soldier available today.

Stories from the World War II Battlefield: Writing the Stories of War (Stories from the WWII Battlefield)
ISBN: 1938226372 OCLC:

Generations 2016

Stories can save us. Stories have the power to heal. Stories help us preserve the past and provide hope that history will not repeat itself. For some cultures, storytelling is the primary method for transmitting a family or group’s collective history. For others, writing the stories to share with family or the world, is the method. When we write, we must ask ourselves, what writing really matters? Consider the words you write as your legacy. Find ways to share your writing to document your life, to remember those who are no longer here, and to honor those who survived a time when the world was collapsing in chaos. All the tools researchers need to start writing the stories of World War II from a U.S. perspective or overseas theater of war perspective, to honor those who lived in those chaotic years, are included in this volume. The tools include: Reasons to write the stories of war. Tips to help you organize your thoughts and sources before you write. Writing formulas to help you organize your stories. More than 500 writing prompts covering multiple themes for writers in the U.S. and overseas. Suggestions on how to share your stories on memorial websites and through books. Additional resources for writing the stories of war. This is the most important reference guide researchers need to begin writing the stories of World War II.

Stories of the lost
ISBN: 9781497480995 OCLC: 879066538

Generations, Woodridge, IL : [2014]

The author tells how she researched her family members' military service records, which may, in turn, help you learn how to research yours.

The Tiger's Widow: A Woman Who Took Up the Fight, the Story of Virginia Brouk
ISBN: 9781500284596 OCLC: 893559967

Drawn from Virginia Ginny Brouk's own memoir, letters and interviews, this biography of Virginia Scharer Brouk, later Virginia S. Davis, presents her life story, from growing up in Chicago during the Great Depression, to her life as the wife of Flying Tiger Robert Brouk, and then, as a young widow, picking up the pieces of her life and soldiering on, including becoming a member of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

To Soar with the Tigers
ISBN: 9781938226267 OCLC: 868030686

This is the story of Flying Tiger Robert Brouk, a Flight Leader in the 3rd Squadron of the American Volunteer Group. In the months prior to Pearl Harbor, until the disbandment of the American Volunteer Group in July 1942, the Flying Tigers valiantly fought the Japanese over the skies of Burma and China. This story contains Robert’s complete war diary. The diary outlines his dramatic experiences from the moment he enlisted in the American Volunteer Group to its disbandment. His story also contains snapshots of the life he led upon his return to his home in Cicero, Illinois; a graphic account of his untimely death; and accounts of how Robert has been remembered through the years.

 

 

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