Amid the vibrant chaos of the 42nd Miami Book Fair on November 18, 2025, where over 550 authors from 35 countries converge on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, an extraordinary glitch has turned heads and sparked whispers across literary circles. At the heart of it: Karmela Waldman—affectionately known as KARM—a 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, licensed psychotherapist, and certified legend of the hit true-crime podcast Surviving the Survivor (STS). In a bizarre cataloging coup, KARM has been mysteriously listed as the sole author of Surviving the Survivor: A Brutally Honest Conversation about Life (& Death) with My Mom: A Holocaust Survivor, Therapist & My Podcast Co-Host. The book, published in 2024 by Post Hill Press, chronicles her unfiltered wisdom and the podcast’s improbable rise. But here’s the twist: it’s penned by her son, Joel Z. Waldman, with KARM’s voice as its raw, pulsating core.

The Miami Book Fair, the nation’s longest-running literary festival running November 16-23, draws bibliophiles with headliners like Padma Lakshmi, Art Spiegelman, and Edwidge Danticat. Amid panels on everything from climate activism to graphic novels, KARM’s booth in the Street Fair’s bustling lanes—flanked by food trucks, live music, and artisan stalls—became an unintended epicenter. Fairgoers, flipping through signed copies, did double-takes at the program listing her as lead author. “It’s like the universe decided to give her the credit she deserves,” chuckled Joel during a spontaneous Q&A, as lines snaked around their table. The error? Likely a digital hiccup in the fair’s sprawling author database, which juggles thousands of entries. Organizers, ever the pros, rolled with it, dubbing it a “serendipitous spotlight” on intergenerational storytelling.

KARM’s journey is the stuff of legend. Born in 1939 in Subotica, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), she was just four when Hungarian SS agents stormed her family’s Jewish ghetto home in June 1944. Whisked to a train bound for Auschwitz, her mother’s desperate bribe to a conductor diverted them to Budapest. There, amid bombs and betrayals, KARM hid in a boys’ Catholic school, masquerading as a choirboy to evade capture. Her father wasn’t so lucky; he perished at Auschwitz that same year. Post-war, she rebuilt in Geneva, earning a degree from the University of Geneva, then a master’s in social work from Rutgers University. For over 40 years, she’s been a marriage therapist in Miami Beach, blending Freudian insight with Eastern European grit.

Enter Joel, her Emmy-winning journalist son, who traded Fox News corridors for family during the pandemic. Holed up in Miami Beach with wife Ileana and kids Vida, Zizi, and Judah, he pitched the wild idea: a podcast with his octogenarian mom dissecting true-crime cases—from the Black Dahlia to the Idaho murders—laced with her razor-sharp therapy takes and Holocaust-honed resilience. Surviving the Survivor exploded, amassing a cult following for episodes where KARM quips, “We’re all just trying to survive in a rough world,” while unpacking generational trauma. The book expands this, revealing Joel’s shock at her hidden past and her raw grief over losing husband of 63 years and son Rami to illness.

This “author” flub? It’s poetic justice. KARM’s unyielding spirit—surviving Nazis, loss, and now a podcast boom at 86—embodies the fair’s theme of diverse voices. As crowds swelled, she signed books with a flourish, dispensing advice: “Life’s too short for bad alibis.” The mix-up amplified her message, drawing young readers to Holocaust education amid rising antisemitism echoes, like those from survivors warning of 1938 redux. Joel, grinning, noted, “Mom’s always been the real writer—of survival.” In Miami’s humid glow, under palm shadows and page-turning fever, KARM’s glitch-born glory reminds us: true authorship lies not in bylines, but in stories that outlast the unimaginable. As the fair pulses on—with rooftop DJ sets and author dinners—this tale cements her as the event’s unscripted star. In a world craving authenticity, KARM’s “error” is literature’s perfect plot twist.