Review by: Samantha M. Chandler
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QUICK SUMMARY:
Wow. I... Just wow. This book was amazing. I absolutely loved this true story of a Polish Doctor that endured 3 concentration camps. I am just stunned at how well this book incorporated historical context to back up the author's mother's survival, struggle, outlook on life, as well as what happened before she ended up in the camps to where the story concludes with the eventual death of her mother. But Jadzia's story will now live on forever. Also, this book has images to really help you understand the situation that Jadzia was going through at different stages of her life.
THE RUN DOWN:
Okay so first off this was a very delicate read for me. I slowed down, processed, analyzed, and breathed this book for the last week and a half. I wanted to know all of the wisdom and knowledge that Barbara Rylko-Bauer could give to me. As I mentioned earlier, this book follows Jadzia's life- childhood, medical training, life as a concentration camp physician, and her life after World War II. All of this is done surrounded by what was happening in the moment of her life. Jadzia tells her story to her anthropologist daughter, Barbara, who recorded hours and hours of Jadzia's life. I am really trying hard to not give any spoilers away!
I was amazed at Jadzia's skill, knowledge, luck, and ability to try and thrive no matter what came her way. As Barbara Rylko-Bauer travels back in time with her mother, we learn of the hardships that female concentration camp prisoners faced. The struggle doesn't just end there. It continues into her post war years when Jadzia tried to rebuild her life. She was a refugee doctor and then an immigrant to the U.S. I had no idea of the struggles immigrants had during this time period so I learned quite a bit. Like many immigrants during this time, Jadzia had hopes of making new connections and continuing her career as a physician. However, for various reasons (personal, economic, and social obstacles to receiving a United States medical license) she was unable to obtain that goal. She ended her career as a nurse’s aide at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan.
I think Rylko-Bauer did an amazing job of capturing her mother's story. Jadzia's story is created with historical research and conversations with her daughter. I could hear both voices in the writing. It was interesting to see what Jadzia would say, how she would react, how Rylko-Bauer would react, and the research to corroborate what Jadzia had said. The result was a book about struggle, survival, and displacement helping the reader to understand a brutal time in history and the aftermath struggles of Polish immigrants in the United States.
I will never be able to do this book the justice it deserves by writing this review. It will be a book I will hand out to anyone and eventually discuss with my own family. I have had the amazing chance to meet Barbara Rylko-Bauer. She was very kind and it was so amazing to hear her speak to at the Great Lakes Conference held at Grand Valley State University.
It was interesting that her family settled in the same state I live in! The only complaint I had was that sometimes the abbreviations took away some of the story for me because I was busy trying to look up what they meant (felt like I had short term memory loss)! With that said, I still would give this book a 5/5 star review!
IN CONCLUSION, READ THE FRACKING BOOK!
Up next: The First Counsel by Brad Meltzer
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