What I’m Reading: Cilka’s Journey

I got an email from Audible.   In the past I had read the book The  Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris and the author had a new book out Cilka’s Journey that chronicled the life of a person that was in that book.   Well I jumped at the chance to get the book as I really enjoyed the first book.

Although I was excited to read the book, a bit of me was meh.   I had read so many books lately on the topic and seriously needed a new topic.   I knew I should mix things up…read a mystery…read a murder or cop book.   But…this one really called so I listened and I liked it.   This book talks more about after the war in Siberian work camps.

The book is based on a true story which I loved.

I so aspire to be a strong person like Cilka.   Even when things were terrible she still found ways to help others.

Here’s what Amazon had to say:

“Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival.

When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was sent to Auschwitz when she was still a child?

In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she meets a kind female doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing and begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.

Confronting death and terror daily, Cilka discovers a strength she never knew she had. And when she begins to tentatively form bonds and relationships in this harsh, new reality, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.

From child to woman, from woman to healer, Cilka’s journey illuminates the resilience of the human spirit―and the will we have to survive.”

Amazon readers gave the book 4.6 stars.   I’d have to agree.   It was good and well worth your time.

If you are interested, you can find the book HERE on Amazon.