A Brilliant Life

My Mother’s Inspiring True Story of Surviving the Holocaust

De: Rachelle Unreich

Narrado por: Rachel Griffiths

The powerful, true story of a Holocaust survivor told by her daughter—a tale that reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal.

As Mira is nearing the end of her life, her daughter Rachelle wants to find out how her mother had lived through four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March. There was a mystery to her survival, it seemed—which perhaps had something to do with the strange things that always happened around her. And, incredibly, when giving testimony later in life, she says that it was during this time—despite witnessing the depths of man’s cruelty—that she learned about “the goodness of people.”

Born in Czechoslovakia, Mira was only 12 years old when World War II broke out. At 88, living in Australia, she is diagnosed with cancer, and her journalist daughter decides to interview her to distract her from her illness. What Rachelle discovers about her mother helps her fit together the jigsaw pieces of her own life. A Brilliant Life portrays not only how remote a prospect it was to live through the Holocaust, but what it is like to be the child of a survivor.

A story of love, loss, wonder and the deepest kind of faith, A Brilliant Life questions the role that fate, chance and destiny play in one's life. It is a tribute to family, a story of incredible resilience and a chronicle of the deep connection between mother and child that not even death can destroy.

©2023 Rachelle Unreich (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Phenomenal. Moving.

A story that is heart breaking yet heart warming. Frank and honest accounting of an almost unbelievable time of history. Proving that someone can be quite broken and yet somehow rise from the ashes.

Expertly Written

Excellent writing. This story expertly brings to life the mother’s survival of Auschwitz and World War II.

A stunningly beautiful work!

Wow. Just wow. Hauntingly beautiful. Deeply mystical. Powerful beyond the words on the page. Thank you, Rachelle, for sharing your mother’s Brilliant Life story with the world.

Amazing

This was an amazing true story. It is a must read I hope the world never forgets

Beautiful

This is a beautiful story and the narrator knew Mira and the author, which made it even more special! Can’t recommend this enough!

Uplifting despite the content

An absolutely beautiful story. Compelling narrative and careful writing made this book a page turner.

INCREDIBLY SAD, YET BEAUTIFUL AND HOPEFUL…

What a testament of the love of a daughter for her mother. It is also testament to the resilience of the human mind and soul.

What the people in concentrations endured, both those who survived, and those who didn’t… I honestly don’t think I have the proper vocabulary to describe the extent of the cruelty and pure EVILNESS that befell these people. I don’t know HOW those who survived did it.

It blows my mind that there is a group of fanatics who believe (and work to make OTHERS believe) that the Holocaust never really happened. Unbelievable.

The frightening thing is that the number of Holocaust survivor’s who are still alive to tell about the concentration camps and the horrors that were endured there, are dwindling due to age. Soon, unless they have found ways to keep their stories alive, it will be all to easy for each coming generation to forget about this horrible, shameful period in our world history. That which is forgotten is doomed to be repeated…

Mira, the young woman who somehow survived FOUR concentration camps and eventually found her way back to the town from which she was captured, eventually married and became a mother.

In itself, creating her family was nothing special; millions of people have done the same thing. What’s miraculous was Mira’s attitude after making her way back home. She made a conscious CHOICE to move forward with her life and she made a CHOICE every single day to live her life to the fullest and to BE happy, despite what had happened to her. She endured horrific conditions, nearly died from starvation, lost her mother, father, a brother and a sister at the hands of the Nazi’s.

Besides choosing to be happy, Mira also chose to see the many miracles it took to get her back home when the war was over. She realized her survival had depended on so many people and their kindness (even a few kind Nazi’s that had no choice but to be part of the huge Hitler machine helped — they had no choice but to join the Army or to die themselves. Many DIDN’T agreed with what was happening being done. There were many kind, decent Germans who did what they could to help without risking being caught and being killed themselves).

Mira always remembered those kindnesses and kept them close to her heart. She treated everyone she knew, even strangers, with a joyful smile and a willingness to help. Whatever small kindness she could do for another, she did and she did it without complaint.

Mira taught each of her five children to be grateful and joyful. Mira and her attitude of gratefulness and joyfulness That was Mira’s legacy.

Mira lived to be 89 years old. Her family absolutely adored her. They all took care of Mira at home right up until her death. It was Mira’s greatest wish to die at home surrounded by her loved ones, rather than in a sterile hospital, surrounded by strangers. It was not an easy task, but even the youngest members of the family pitched in with the work. By sharing the responsibilities, it wasn’t a burden on any one person. They could all enjoy the time they had with Mira before she was gone.

Even after death, mysterious things happened. Her family members believe those things were just Mira still being there watching over her family with the same love and devotion as when she was alive.

I applaud Mira for her spunk and resilience. Living well and loving well are, after all, the best revenge!

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I went through it in one afternoon, but be aware, it’s not an upbeat story; parts are very hard to listen to. If you are prone to depression, this book is probably not a good choice for you.