A very evocative story based on true life experiences starting with the Holocaust and following the life of one little girl who was saved. This book tells it as it was and how people had to live with the difficulties and memories those circumstances caused. It is a story created from actual memories, letters and photographs. A brilliantly crafted book.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for this ARC.

The life of Elida is pieced together through interviews, court documents, letters and other documents by her cousin. We follow Elida(who at points is also known as Rita and Gita) after she is born in the Kovno ghettos to Jewish parents and then smuggled out of the ghettos to avoid being murdered. We see her journey as she tries to reunite with her family, find an identity that encompasses who she is and find a way to make peace with all that she has been through.

I knew very little of the forbidden Jewish children born during the war. The story was both heart wrenching and eye opening. The fact it was so heavily researched and written by a family member really added extra depth.

Within this story we see 2 sides of humanity one of enduring love, loyalty and bravery. The other of evil, cruelty and greed. This had me reaching for the tissues.

The true story of a baby born against the rules to a Jewish couple in a Lithuanian ghetto. Baby Elida was smuggled out to a Polish family as 3 month old, and the book follows her life passing from family to family, and country to country. Researched and written by Elida's cousin Zipora, it is an extremely touching account - you could feel the desperation coming off the page at times. I found Elida hard to like, but her life was so utterly tragic, it was understandable that she constantly felt as if things were against her. A very interesting book.