My Sister's Mother: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Stalin’s Siberia
by Donna Solecka Urbikas
University of Wisconsin Press, 2019 Paper: 978-0-299-30854-4 | eISBN: 978-0-299-30858-2 | Cloth: 978-0-299-30850-6 Library of Congress Classification D810.D5U735 2016 Dewey Decimal Classification 940.531450923919
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In the 1950s, baby boomer Donna Solecka Urbikas grew up in the American Midwest yearning for a "normal" American family. But during World War II, her Polish-born mother and half sister had endured hunger, disease, and desperate escape from slave labor in Siberia. War and exile created a profound bond between mother and older daughter, one that Donna would struggle to find with either of them. In this unforgettable memoir, Donna recounts her family history and her own survivor's story, finally understanding the damaged mother who had saved her sister.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Donna Solecka Urbikas was born in Coventry, England, and immigrated with her parents and sister to Chicago in 1952. She lives in Chicago.
REVIEWS
"Poignant and empowering. ... Refreshingly honest ... about the effects that war has on its survivors and inevitably their children." —Polish American Journal
"Set against the background of Polish history, Urbikas recounts her mother and sister's plight of deportation, liberation, and journey through Central Asia to England and finally the United States. ... An ambitious and dense narrative." —Polish American Historical Review,
"Superbly records the bitter suffering both of victims of the Soviet Gulag and of displaced emigrants. In this context, Donna's teenage 'tragedy' of failing to make the cheerleading squad is particularly poignant." —Marek Jan Chodakiewicz, author of Between Nazis and Soviets
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Map
Introduction
Part 1. The Generation between the Wars
The Haunting Past
Uneasy Peace
The Interview
Hiding
Lost Lives Regained
Birth into War
Polish School
The First World War
Mothers
Walenty and Natalia
Operation Marriage
Cradling Death
The Farm
Uncertainty
Train Travel
Part 2. Russia and Siberia
The Lieutenant
The Impact
The Arrest
Family Secrets
Soviet Labor Camp
Majorettes and Identity
Prison without Bars
The Longing
Undeserved Beauty
Homeland
Fleeting Summer Breezes and Conspiracies
Terms of Endearment
The Human Commodity Market
A Less Than Normal Childhood
Part 3. Choices and Destiny
Amnesty
The Fittest Survive
Religion
The Guardian
A Man of Honor
Under Naked Skies
Not Me
Death in Small Doses
Like No Other
Numbing Existence
War and Mental Illness
From Here to Hell
Part 4. Bittersweet Lessons
I, as Savior?
India
The World at War
England
The Land of White Rice and Cinnamon
Forever the Farm
Reconciliation
King Takes Rook
Epilogue
On Being a Mother
Notes
References
Index
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My Sister's Mother: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Stalin’s Siberia
by Donna Solecka Urbikas
University of Wisconsin Press, 2019 Paper: 978-0-299-30854-4 eISBN: 978-0-299-30858-2 Cloth: 978-0-299-30850-6
In the 1950s, baby boomer Donna Solecka Urbikas grew up in the American Midwest yearning for a "normal" American family. But during World War II, her Polish-born mother and half sister had endured hunger, disease, and desperate escape from slave labor in Siberia. War and exile created a profound bond between mother and older daughter, one that Donna would struggle to find with either of them. In this unforgettable memoir, Donna recounts her family history and her own survivor's story, finally understanding the damaged mother who had saved her sister.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Donna Solecka Urbikas was born in Coventry, England, and immigrated with her parents and sister to Chicago in 1952. She lives in Chicago.
REVIEWS
"Poignant and empowering. ... Refreshingly honest ... about the effects that war has on its survivors and inevitably their children." —Polish American Journal
"Set against the background of Polish history, Urbikas recounts her mother and sister's plight of deportation, liberation, and journey through Central Asia to England and finally the United States. ... An ambitious and dense narrative." —Polish American Historical Review,
"Superbly records the bitter suffering both of victims of the Soviet Gulag and of displaced emigrants. In this context, Donna's teenage 'tragedy' of failing to make the cheerleading squad is particularly poignant." —Marek Jan Chodakiewicz, author of Between Nazis and Soviets
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Map
Introduction
Part 1. The Generation between the Wars
The Haunting Past
Uneasy Peace
The Interview
Hiding
Lost Lives Regained
Birth into War
Polish School
The First World War
Mothers
Walenty and Natalia
Operation Marriage
Cradling Death
The Farm
Uncertainty
Train Travel
Part 2. Russia and Siberia
The Lieutenant
The Impact
The Arrest
Family Secrets
Soviet Labor Camp
Majorettes and Identity
Prison without Bars
The Longing
Undeserved Beauty
Homeland
Fleeting Summer Breezes and Conspiracies
Terms of Endearment
The Human Commodity Market
A Less Than Normal Childhood
Part 3. Choices and Destiny
Amnesty
The Fittest Survive
Religion
The Guardian
A Man of Honor
Under Naked Skies
Not Me
Death in Small Doses
Like No Other
Numbing Existence
War and Mental Illness
From Here to Hell
Part 4. Bittersweet Lessons
I, as Savior?
India
The World at War
England
The Land of White Rice and Cinnamon
Forever the Farm
Reconciliation
King Takes Rook
Epilogue
On Being a Mother
Notes
References
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE