In this moving novel a true story is told of a woman that opens up about her life. Millie Werber held many secrets close to her heart. Her memoir tells her story from living in the ghetto to being in a concentration camp to trying to pick up the pieces of her life after liberation, and immigrating to America. Through it all her life was shaped by the two rings she held dear. ( )

This is a very beautifully written story about a woman who survives World War II as a 17-year-old Jew. It spans her entire life. I'm always fascinated with experiences dealing with World War II and this is another one that tells of the horrors endured and how one survivor made it through and found love. ( )

Absolutely wonderful book. Millie tells her story so eloquently. She adds small side stories to the bigger picture being presented and some of those are quite eye opening and heart wrenching; ie: the wagons on the long walk and the wooden shoes. Both of these for some reason stick with me. It is also interesting to hear how "family" treated her after the war. Just another point of humiliation where there should have been love and understanding. The story of Heneik seems to be at the heart of the book, but there is so much more to it.: More that paints a vivid picture of the live of Millie Werber. A must read for those interested in Holocaust studies as there are so many small nuances covered that have been missed in previous memoirs. ( )

This is a powerful book/memoir and I have been giving some thought on how to review it. I appreciated that in the introduction the writer clearly places herself as part of the story, and explains the details behind her interpretation of events and how the story was told to her. I am grateful that she took the time to hear the story, and grateful to Millie for being brave enough to tell it. It is a story that deserves to be told and I am thankful that it was not lost. This is the story of a teenage girl during the holocaust. First being forced into the ghetto, then working in a factory, and finally an Auschwitz. But within that story there was also a secret story that had not yet been told. A story her current family knew nothing about. While working in the factory she was briefly married. How she managed to save the rings and a picture (her only mementos) through her horrible experiences is a miracle. A wonderful book and a must read for anybody interested in stories of survival, love, and history. ( )

Considering that this book was written as a collaboration between the memoirist and a woman who hardly knew her before the project started, it is a remarkable work of writing. Eve Keller talks in the foreword about the process and some decisions she made in writing but after that the book is in Millie Werber's words. And what a story she has to tell. She was a young girl when the Nazis took power in Poland. She was naive and shy and had never been out of the city of Radom. Her family, consisting of her mother, father and brother, were moved to the ghetto in 1941. There they had to share a small room with Millie's uncle and aunt and their two children. It was her uncle who convinced Millie to go to work at the munitions factory, a decision that saved her life. Anyone who didn't or couldn't work was shipped to the death camps and that included Millie's mother. Her brother was shot before he even left the city.

Like any Holocaust survivor's story Millie was subject to horrible conditions and unbelievable cruelty. However, Millie found love too. It was brief, as her husband was removed from the factory a few months after they married, but it was the grand passion of her life. The picture on the front cover of the young couple could have been of any couple at that time. They look happy and Millie, at least, looks hopeful.

Millie feels her survival was a matter of luck. She was helped several times and she thinks it was just random chance that she managed to survive. But I think she must have had an inner core of strength that allowed her to carry on when most people would have given up. Whatever the case, it makes for a remarkable story. I'm very glad that Millie and Eve were able to put it on paper and get it published. These stories are so very important to preserve so we remember that awful period and never repeat it. ( )