Review: "Cilka's Journey" by Heather Morris

Inspired by information gathered while preparing to write The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel, this is the story of Cecilie Klein, a young Jewish girl who survived Auschwitz, only to be declared an enemy of Russia because of the unimaginable activities that she was forced to perform for the Germans. Sent to a gulag in Russia, she is once again forced into jobs she doesn't want and subjected to unthinkable cruelties. Relying only on her tenable spirit, she survives her imprisonment and helps countless women to also make it thru this Hell on earth.

This is a very heartrending but moving tome. It is inconceivable to me what the men and women had to endure during and after World War II. Chilka’s tenacious attitude would not let her give up even in the bleakest of situations. She persevered and because of her, countless women also lived. Even in the harshest conditions, she was selfless and brave. She was and is an inspiration to all who read her story. Although the story has you on the edge of your seat with anxious dread, I couldn’t put it down. I had to keep reading afraid that with each page, Chilka would come to a sorrowful end. I highly recommend it.