Books For The Road - Far From My Home, Never To Return

This is a little break from my New Zealand Diary postings. I wanted to share a book I finished while on the trip. It's called Far From My Home, Never To Return - A Polish Child's WWII Memoir by Nadia Seluga. It came to my attention through the Martin Sisters Publishing group to which I belong (In A Pickle is published through them.) I've been intrigued lately with some of the WWII memoirs and stories I"ve read and this is a fascinating one. We all know of the Holocaust and the interment and execution of Jews but this is the story of one family's interment by the Russians who invaded Poland at the start of the war and took thousands of Poles from their homes to relocate them in labor camps in Russia where they were to work for the Russian government.

Seluga's youth and native Polish language come through in the narrative. I suspect she relied heavily on her diary from the time. She tells of how her family was deported by the Soviets from their small village in Polesie, an area that used to be a part of Poland, and were forced into labor camps where they struggled to survive. Once they are freed from the Siberian labor camp, the struggle continues as they are relocated several times in Asia and Africa before finally going on to England.

It takes a little while to get used to Seluga's voice but once you do, you are transported to those years of struggle as seen through the eyes of her youth. The ingenuity and courage of her family are a fine example of how so many of that generation coped with the hardships the war placed on them. It is well worth your time to read whether on the road or at home. You will have a whole new appreciation for home and travel and those who inspire us.