A Child Without a Shadow

A Holocaust Memoir: From Trauma to Triumph

Available for Pre-order for May 1st 2026

Charlie Hilsberg. Charles van Bergen. CDJ-0423. Shaul Hilsberg. Shaul Harel.

Brussels, 1942. As deportation trains depart for Auschwitz, five-year-old Charlie Hilsberg is placed in the hands of the Belgian resistance. With Charlie's family gone, his home lost, he is hidden in the homes of strangers and given a new name – Charles van Bergen. A new future beckons, but as it does, Charlie's past begins to disappear. 

A Child Without a Shadow is the deeply moving story of one boy's extraordinary journey to overcome trauma, explore his hidden past, and reclaim his identity. Spanning a remarkable life, we go from the darkness of the Holocaust to the peaks of paediatric neurology, from childhood migration to battlefields on Israel's fledgling borders. This is the story of how Charlie Hilsberg – a child without a shadow – survived against all the odds, before going on to save countless lives as Prof. Shaul Harel, world-renowned expert in paediatric neurology and child development. 

Praise 

"This heart-rending story is of two extraordinary people whose lives in Belgium have been intertwined for the past 80 years. Andree Geulen, a 19-year-old Catholic school teacher, distressed at the persecution of Jews by the Germans, joined the Belgium underground, taking children from their trusting parents and bringing them to hiding places, hidden from german soldiers eager to send them to their deaths. Andree helped arrange for Charlie to be hidden in a total of seven locations during WWII… a shining example of Jewish adaptability and resilience, made possible by a righteous gentile, Andree Geulen. READ THIS BOOK – IT WILL REMAIN IN YOUR HEART FOREVER." Paul Rossman, President, American Child Neurology Society (CNS)

"Shaul Harel has boldly put his own story out there, in all its rawness, and revealed the brutal truths of his childhood… It is a beautiful and brave account of horrors we can only imagine at the worst of times, interwoven with details about the heroes who risked everything to intervene… This is a book everyone should read, if for no other reason than to see both the best and the worst of humanity in one text. But it is also a testament to the resilience of people and how they can overcome any challenges and trials to change the world themselves. Rarely have I been so impressed by an individual as I am by Shaul Harel and his story." Rebecca Connolly, author of Agents of the Convent. 

"This is the amazing story of 5-year-old Charlie Hilsberg, ripped from his Belgian family by the brutal, murderous Nazi regime, exemplifying on a single individual's level the most cataclysmic example of man's inhumanity to man. Yet the reader will find optimism, hope, and joy… Hats off to Dr. Harel, his family, his community, the righteous who fought in the Belgian resistance movement, and the reader bold enough to take this literary journey and learn the true meaning of overcoming hardship and reaching wisdom with meaning." Phillip Pearl, Neurologist and author, Neuro-logic: A Primer on Localization

"Shaul Harel means a lot to countless people, including many who have never met him but had their lives changed thanks to paediatric neurologists he trained or inspired worldwide. This destiny-defying autobiography sheds light on the making of a mensch. Since his early childhood as Charlie Hilsberg through his path in the young State of Israel and beyond, Harel seems to have mastered the right doses of humility and courage, creativity and chutzpah, intelligence and mazal against all odds, and… the art of storytelling." Bernard Dan, Chief Editor, Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology

"To those who say that children are suffering permanent damage from the lack of in-person learning during the pandemic, read this book! Despite spending what should have been his elementary school years because he was hiding during WWII, Charlie/Shaul managed to catch up to and surpass his peers who were not similarly disadvantaged. You will be inspired by his story." Jackie Ben-Efraim, V.P Development, Association of Jewish Libraries