Isabell Mayer Kerins
#1 Best Selling Author
Isabell Mayer Kerins is a wife, mother of five adult children, an entrepreneur and a #1 Best Selling author. She lives with her husband in Southern California.
Isabell began her career as a nationally recognized corporate marketing executive, transitioning to a small business owner when her second child was born.
She has started many successful professional endeavors and has been an elected public official at city, county and state levels.
Twenty years ago Isabell suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage from postpartum eclampsia after the birth of her 5th child, experiencing a Near Death Experience. Twenty years later she knew it was time to complete the journey of writing Through Hell to Hollywood, the book about her father’s life which is representative of the horrors millions of fellow ethnic Germans experienced, and the American Dream realized by their decedents.
In her latest book she continues with the legacy of Father Mathias Lani, the man who was instrumental in revising US Immigration Policies after WWII.
She is honored to share their story with you.
New Release
Through Hell
to Hollywood
From the daughter of the man whose achievements have inspired generations comes the movie-worthy true story of Albert Mayer: Internment camp survivor, Immigrant, and Hollywood innovator.
Albert Mayer was born into the idyllic farming community of Perles in Yugoslavia—six years before the Axis Powers overran Europe and nine years before the Soviet forces interred thousands of ethic German in Yugoslavian liquidation camps. Surviving on stories of perseverance, faith, and the fearless efforts of fellow prisoners, Albert escaped certain death to become one of the most prolific inventors in the history of Hollywood—a legacy that has been hidden for far too long.
Beginning with his rural roots, Isabell Mayer Kerins recounts the stories told by friends, family members, and the man himself to trace a life deserving of such a legacy. THROUGH HELL TO HOLLYWOOD finds Albert in the bountiful fields of his childhood in pre-WWII on the Balkan Peninsula, the difficult horrors of his adolescence in a post-WWII Communist death camp, the hostile experiences of his teenage years as a refugee in war-torn Germany, and the hopeful beginnings of his American motion picture career. Bolstered by countless historical resources along with painstaking technical research, Kerins patches together the record of a life that is both gripping and tender, incisively personal and globally influential.
Albert Mayer is one of the most important names in film history the world has never heard. As a leading camera designer at Panavision, his work has shaped the way we see film—quite literally. With the advent of the Panaflex camera, designed and updated by Mayer and his son, countless culture-shaping classics have been produced: Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express (1974), Ron Howard’s Far and Away (1992), and James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) are only a few. Culminating in the award of several Oscars for technical achievements, Mayer is considered one of the most gifted and lauded camera engineers in history.
Visceral, vulnerable, and epic in both scale and subject, THROUGH HELL TO HOLLYWOOD is a tour-de-force achievement—a book worthy of the incredible man that inspires it.
Isabell Mayer Kerins has created a moving historical and human story that the entire world needs to read, especially today. The story reminds us how scarily easy it is for some leaders to rise to power only to persecute, oppress, and dispose of humans, and the importance of recognizing this pattern throughout history in order for the world to protect humanity. This amazing story also shows us how ordinary people are not only resilient but can also persevere in the face of injustice, persecution, abuse, and trauma. I can already see this story as a major motion picture that will inspire multiple generations to remember the hate that exists in the world and why it is so important to create a more compassionate, kind, and inclusive future. Albert Mayer’s life and family values of kindness, acceptance, and perseverance, even as he endured the horrors of violence and oppression as a child, is so important and incredibly powerful. Reading this story about a loving, peaceful family who was subjected to war and persecution brought tears of love, powerlessness, helplessness, loss, and love, again.
Amazon Book Review
Praise & Reviews
for
Through Hell
to Hollywood
A historically enlightening and deeply heartfelt portrayal of a man who quite literally epitomized the American dream… This book so beautifully depicts one man’s journey through Hell to the very best version of himself as one of the great creators of our time. Moreover, it does so in a way that left me deeply inspired and aching to do the very same in my own life. Knowing this book was written by his daughter Isabell makes it all the more touching and meaningful as well. The details are simply incredible and create a landscape which pulls you into its center as if you were right there beside the main character, experiencing it all. What an inspirational life story to share with this world. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking inspiration and light.
Amazon Book Review
Albert Mayer's life journey, from a child of ethnic German descent who endured death camps and witnessed atrocities, to becoming a world-renowned camera inventor, is profoundly inspiring. Despite the many challenges and adversities he faced, he rose to prominence, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy for himself and his family. His story embodies resilience and determination. Warmest congratulations to the author, Isabell Mayer!
All your hard work and dedication shines through. Would love to see this on the big screen one day.
Amazon Book Review
Contact us at info@isabellkerins.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!