Realtor and Writer Donna Urbikas Pens True Story About War, Trauma and Survival
The new paperback edition is scheduled to be released on February 19 by University of Wisconsin Press. "My Sister's Mother: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Stalin's Siberia" is the true story about Urbikas' Polish-born mother and half-sister's journey through World War II. Both mother and young daughter were deported to Siberia during Stalin's terrifying regime. "The other half of the book is about my growing up with their story," said Urbikas.
Both mother and daughter endured dehumanizing conditions as slave laborers in Siberia, but forged an unbreakable mother-daughter bond. Their riveting story is of hunger, disease, survival and a dangerous escape across a continent.
Urbikas, who yearned for a "normal" American family while her mother and half-sister were haunted by the past, recounts her family history and her own survivor's story. "I eventually understood the damaged mother who had saved my sister," she recounted.
"This stunning, heartfelt memoir looks unflinchingly at the scars borne by one Polish immigrant family as their daughter tries to become a normal American girl in Chicago. A gripping study of family dynamics, this is also a must-read for World War II history buffs," concluded Leonard Kniffel, author of "A Polish Son in the Motherland."
"My Sister's Mother: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Stalin's Siberia" is an Honoree, Biography/Memoir, Society of Midland Authors Annual Literary Awards; Bronze Winner for Autobiography & Memoir, Foreword INDIE Book Awards; Finalist, Memoir, Midwest Book Awards; and Finalist, Traditional Nonfiction Book, Chicago Writers Association Awards. It was also selected as a Best Book for Public and Secondary School Libraries.
About Donna Urbikas, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, KoenigRubloff Realty Group
Chicagoland Realtor Donna Urbikas is a Certified Negotiation Expert, Accredited Distressed Property Representative and Luxury Collection Specialist. She works with first-time home buyers, move-up buyers, investors, sellers, landlords and renters. For more information, please call (312) 268-2732, or visit http://www.donnaurbikas.koenigrubloff.com.