The Zookeeper's Wife

Okay, I have been waiting for this movie for two years and finally, the trailer has been released and it is coming out in March 2017!!!! Check it out!

For those who don't know, it is based on the bestseller "The Zookeeper's Wife." It is the story of Jan and Antonia Zabinski, who ran the Warsaw Zoo. During the Nazi Occupation of Poland, the Zabinski's hid Jews in the Zoo.

An Agoraphobic in Europe!

Hey All,

My article entitled, "An Agoraphobic in Europe" is up on GoWorldTravel.com! So psyched about it. Please go check it out and let me know what you think!

Click the following link to read it:  http://www.goworldtravel.com/travel-in-poland/

A Quick Note...

To say that one of my stories was accepted by GoWorldTravel.com. Haven't heard when it will be up on the website, but I'm excited. Anyway, it was about my trip to Poland and my tour of Auschwitz and Krakow.

Will let you know more later!

The Zookeeper's Wife

http://www.stack.com/2015/10/31/jessica-chastain-and-daniel-bruhl-star-in-war-movie-the-zookeepers-wife/

I am so flipping excited! Jessica Chastain is finally in the midst of filming “The Zookeeper’s Wife!” The movie is inspired by the book by Diane Ackerman and the true life story of Antonia and Jan Zabinski. The couple managed the Warsaw Zoo during WWII and hid hundreds of Jews from the Nazis. I have been hearing rumors about this movie for a couple years now and am ecstatic that it is officially in production!!!

I don’t usually watch movies at the theater; too pricey, but I may make an exception for this one!!!



Got a feeling of what my next WIP will be on…

On My Way

Okay, I said I’d update this blog more often, especially in regards to my trip to Poland and Auschwitz. Well, as usual, life got in the way, just as it so often does. And today is the first day of my grand adventure. We travel to Chicago’s O’Hare airport, then fly to Warsaw and switch planes, then fly to Krakow. All very nerve-wrecking for an anxiety-ridden agoraphobic like me, but exciting none-the-less.

Hopefully I will write a few blog entries about my journey when I get back home. At least a couple. But if you’re really interested (the two of you, LOL!) check out my Facebook page. I’ll be posting pictures and mini-updates there.

I’d like to thank my Mom and sister for helping and supporting me in this. As well as my aunts who rallied behind me and sent me much encouragement. I also thank my cousins and friends who were just as excited as I was. Thank you, I love you all.

Until next time!

Passport to Poland

Okay, so I’ve talked a little about it and hinted around here and there. But I’ve postponed making any official declarations until it was 100% certain. Here it is:

I am going to Poland.

I received my passport a few weeks ago and the money has been put down.

I am to join Eva Mozes Kor and the C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Museum on their tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the city of Krakow. Eva Mozes Kor and her sister Miriam were Mengele twins, meaning Dr. Joseph Mengele ran experiments on them as little girls. The C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Museum is the only Holocaust museum worldwide that advocates forgiveness against the Nazis and every other perpetrator of genocide. As a Christian I believe in forgiving my enemies, but what Eva and the museum practices is beyond my comprehension. Such love and forgiveness can only come from God. 

Not only is this a dream come true for me, visiting the country I am writing about (WIP “Hidden Places”), I am taking a big step. As a former (or continual, depends on what’s going on in my life) agoraphobic, it is an extraordinary thing for me to go out on my own in an unfamiliar place. Maybe on this trip, I can learn from Eva and the other Holocaust survivors. Not only is this an adventure for me, I am viewing this as a spiritual journey. I think I’ll come back a different person, a better person.

It is barely three months until I head off. At times I can hardly believe it, but then I feel something that helps me admit that this is reality.

Until next time…

Still Around…

Gosh, I should really do something with this blog. Just too darn lazy, I guess. Okay, here are the list of updates of my life.

 We had to say good-bye to two of our little darling furbabies: Bingley and Darcy. They were two grey-striped tabby cats, ten years old. Each were failing and suffering. It dawned on us a few days before Christmas how unfair we were being to them and had them put to sleep. Strange as it may seem, for them both to go together was right. They came into this world together, came to our house together, lived and loved only each other, and now went to heaven together. Yes, I believe animals go to heaven. I mean, why not? Animals are far more innocent than mankind. The house seems empty without Bing and Darcy, even though we still have four other furbabies.

 

I had a birthday. Not saying which though. I generally dread birthdays and look upon them as yet another reminder that I have accomplished absolutely nothing. But that was an especially good day. I think I wore a smile for most of it. 

In June of 2015, I am going along with the C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Museum on their tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau and of the city of Krakow. Holocaust survivor and Mengele twin Eva Mozes-Kor will lead us. Her tour groups are the only ones with access to the infamous Block 10, where Mengele and the other Nazi doctors conducted their experiments. OH. MY. GOSH. So psyched. Words cannot do justice to my enthusiasm. I applied for my passport and have made a couple of down payments. Cannot believe a dream of mine is finally coming true. A part of me fears that I’ll wake up and it will fall through or something bad will happen.

Don’t forget, the 27^th of January is the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. No doubt there will be numerous documentaries and interviews on TV, but keep your eye out for Wolf Blitzer’s special interview with Eva Mozes-Kor.

That’s all for now. But I am sure I’ll be back with more information on the trip to Poland in the coming weeks. All for now!

“The Winter Guest,” by Pam Jenoff

Rating: Five Stars

Description:

A stirring novel of first love in a time of war and the unbearable choices that could tear sisters apart, from the celebrated author of The Kommandant's Girl

Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn't be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.

Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena's concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades.

Author Bio:

Pam Jenoff is the author of several novels, including The Kommandant's Girl, which received widespread acclaim, earned her a nomination for the Quill Awards and became an international bestseller. She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. State Department in Europe, as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon and as a practicing attorney at a large firm and in-house. She received her juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, her master’s degree in history from Cambridge University and her bachelor’s degree in international affairs from The George Washington University. Pam Jenoff lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school. Pam would love to skype with your book club or library group!

My Thoughts:

Okay, this is not my first Pam Jenoff book; I’ve read a couple others and liked them pretty well. When I heard this was going to be based in Poland and about a simple Polish, I was psyched (one of my own WIP is based in WWII Poland and is about a Polish family). I had a feeling I was going to like it, but had no clue that I was going to walk away feeling different. Secular books don’t usually have that effect on me. Both Helena and Ruth were appealing characters, though I have to say, the character Helena struck a chord with me. I won’t go into detail, though I will say the ending of “The Winter Guest,” was bittersweet. There was enough sad to be realistic and enough happy to leave me satisfied for the characters.

Helena's Story

“Seven-year-old Helena (Stefania Podgorska’s sister) had grown quite adept at passing slips of paper through the barbed-wire fence unnoticed, but this time she was unlucky. A gang of teenage boys saw Helena take a note from inside the ghetto, and began to chase her.

Frightened, Helena started to run away. Although she could not read or write, Stefania had told her never to let anyone see the little pieces of paper she took from the ghetto. As she ran, she tore up her message and ate the pieces. When the boys caught up to her and found nothing in her hand or pockets, they beat and kicked her so badly she could barely make it home.

For four years after the war was over, Helena was mute. Now in her fifties, she still stutters. The need for secrecy had been impressed on her so deeply, and the trauma of discovery had been so shocking, she could not escape from her habit of silence.”

When Its Hot, It’s Hot!

Whew! Summer may have officially arrived a few days ago, but here in Indiana it already feels like the dog days of summer. We don’t have air conditioning and have to make do with screens in our windows and fans. It doesn’t bother me so much unless I’ve worked hard outside and need a reprieve. The nights can be stifling as well, but other than that it isn’t too unbearable.

We have a garden too. Of course a lot of folks have been planting gardens this year, titling them “Recession Gardens.” It’s sort of a throw back to WWII when families planted Victory Gardens in their flowerbeds to save money and to “win the war!” I’ve discovered something, I like working in our garden and I’m actually good at it. Whenever I finish with it for the day, I feel a sense of accomplishment. When Dad said it was too hot to work outside today, I felt disappointed.

Mom is still looking for a job. There are job openings at Kroger’s, K-Mart, Fashion Bug and clerical position at a local hospital. As for Dad, that job at the local high school didn’t pan out. However a couple teachers might be retiring this year so we’re in prayer that something might work out.

Our church is doing better and it doesn’t look like it’s going to close. People were just taking for granted God’s hard work and needed a wake up call. I actually, I needed one too. Often enough I forget to pray for my church and the minister, his wife and all the other elders and deacons.

Right now I’m editing my series and am now working on the third book. There’s a lot to add and revise in this one, but not as much as I’ll have to do until I start revising the fourth. I’m finding that information in post-WWII Poland is scarce. Most of the non-fiction books out there deal with the political aspect rather than the every day life of the average Joe, which is what I need.

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler: Movie Review

::Spoiler Alert!::

It’s the early 1940’s in Warsaw, Poland. Two years into the war and earlier that year the Germans pushed the Russians back into the Soviet Union and claimed complete control of Poland. The Nazi death machine is in full swing. The Jewish citizens have been living in the ghetto for some time now yet optimistically hope for the best. However, a handful of people sees the truth for what it is; the German’s ultimate goal is to wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth. Irena Sendler, a young social worker in Warsaw, works inside the ghetto. As the situation continues to decline, she along with other resistance fighters and members of Zegota work feverishly to rescue children from the German’s clutches. By the war’s end she saves 2,500 children, twice as many people as Oscar Schindler.
“The Courageous Heart” follows Irena’s life from when she began her mission of saving children to her own arrest and going into hiding herself. Anna Paquin brings Irena Sendler to life as a spunky and brave young woman who nearly loses her life for a cause that she believes in. Marcia Gay Harden portrays Irena’s sickly but supportive mother. And Goran Visnjic, is handsome and trustworthy Stefan, Irena’s love interest.

Violence:
While I absolutely loved this movie, I would caution that this movie is not suited for children or young teens. Keep in mind that most of the scenes feature Irena in the ghetto and though Hallmark didn’t do anything too graphic, there are innocent people shown being fatally shot; starvation and disease runs rampant in the ghetto. Orphan children are herded into a cattle car destined for a concentration camp. At one point a boy and his father are included in one of the transports, and the father makes the dangerously risks his son’s life by crushing the floorboards and pushing his son through the hole. The most gruesome part of the entire movie is the last twenty minutes when Irena is arrested by the Gestapo and interrogated. When she isn’t forthcoming about her clandestine work, the Gestapo agents restrain her and beat her legs, repeatedly. Her feet are broken and she is unable to walk on her own, so the agents drag her up a flight of stairs for interrogations and back down again to her cell, at least twice. Her cellmates bandage her feet for her. When Irena and several others are sent to be executed, it is then that she is freed thanks to Zegota.

Sex and Nudity:
Sex and nudity is non-existent, and for a movie about the holocaust that is unusual. There is a sweet relationship between Irena and her friend Stefan. After he comes to hide in the Sendler’s apartment, he is shown working on a secret hiding place in one of the wardrobes. He shows Irena and the two get locked in. They share a kiss then and again at the end of the movie when they are reunited.

Religion:
“The Courageous Heart” shows Irena, her mother and the other working in the resistance as respecters of all peoples and religions. Irena, herself is a Catholic, but never goes so far as pushing her religion on others. She does admit to the parents of the children that she rescues that the children will be put in Christian families and will have to disguise themselves as Christians for their own protection. Jewish parents are torn between sending their children to live with Christian strangers and live as Christians or watch their children perish along with them. Irena and other resistance workers are shown teaching children Christian prayers, how to cross themselves and other elements of the Catholic faith in order to save them.

Overall Opinion:
One thing I did notice is that Irena and her mother are referred to as “Miss Sendler” and “Mrs. Sendler,” respectively. And Stefan was given a different last name. In reality that is incorrect. Stefan’s last name was Sendler and Irena only gained that name when she married him. The only reason I can think of for Hallmark doing this is that Irena is not known by her maiden name and it might have been too confusing to refer to her as such. Other than that, I have no other nit-picks. Great production, superb acting. The only other projects I have seen Anna Paquin in was when she played young Jane in “Jane Eyre” and a leading role in “Fly Away Home.” However, I’ll keep my eye out for any of her movies now. This movie also interests me in reading Irena Sendler’s own autobiography “Life in a Jar,” and Ana Mieszkowska’s biography, “Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story” on which this movie is based.