Rahilya’s Fate Судьба Рахили

“This book is about a 10-year-old Jewish girl, an orphan, who was sent into hiding alone in the forest in Russia. She survived through World War II and lived to tell us her amazing true story. “

“The story of my mother's life inspired me to write this book. I hope her memoir will inspire you and bestow important lessons about life, hope, and memory.”

Table of Contents

Introduction    5

Childhood (1930-1939)    9

Belarus — my homeland    11

My parents    15

The move to Yelsk    21

The passing of my parents    24

The orphanage     28

Narovlya    30

Orphanage caregivers    35

The Horrors of War    39

The summer of 1941    40

Fugitives     46

The Occupation    51

Refuge in the forest    53

A target    55

After the Occupation    57

In Search of Family    58

The letter    60

Sonya’s story    64

Traveling to my uncle’s    76

Life in Baku    85

Uncle Chaim    87

My new parents    92

School years    109

My childhood friend Safo     116

The city of my youth     120

My Student Years (1948-1954)    127

Medical Institute    129

Meeting my future husband    133

Visiting Sonya    139

Married Life    149

Our Wedding    151

Medical Institute Graduate    161

First Child    163

Unemployed    175

My career    181

Second child    193

The Sixties    207

Khrushchev’s Thaw    209

The passing of my adoptive parents    221

Divorce    225

Marina’s family emigrates    229

Six years of refusals    235

A new homeland    243

Hello, America!    244

My Family Tree    253

Epilogue    255

Author’s note     257

Pronunciation Guide    261