Both hard to put down and hard to read. Almost too emotional at times ( )

This is a terrible book - terrible in its naked account of one of the survivors of German death camps. The author is daughter of the survivor and writes in the first person of her mother in her early teens, reliving her release from Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz following Nazi occupation of Poland. I have not read "The Diary of Anne Frank" but I cannot imagine much worse. Through a remarkable series of good fortune and help from others, Ms. Balbien chronicles her trip through hell and subsequent immigration to America. It is both terrifying and heart warming. Not a book for the faint of heart, this is a compelling history of a remarkable woman.

This book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )