Amidst the Shadows of Trees: A Holocaust Child’s Survival in the Partisans

What if as a little girl, instead of soft curls and ribbons, your head was shaved like a boy's to keep you from being raped? What if instead of cozy naps with a soft, silken quilt, you slept in a branch-covered hole dug into the earth beneath the snow? What if instead of having your young life cut short by the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, you survived and lived well? This is the true story of scientist, medical school professor, author. public speaker, and Holocaust child-survivor Miriam Brysk, Ph.D. Her story is an un-sentimentalized account of her early childhood surviving the Nazi massacre in the Lida Ghetto, then escaping and joining anti-Nazi partisans in the forests of Belarus during WWII. In it, Brysk guides the reader through a childhood world of evil so horrific that it rivals the fiercest tales of Grimm—a world where reality is worse than any childhood nightmares. Nevertheless, a world where goodness can prevail. This is a story of her survival and triumph.Miriam Brysk survived the challenges of a brutally stolen childhood, and the near total destruction of her people. Amidst the Shadows of Trees provides important lessons, about the strength of the human body, spirit and heart. This must read book, offers contemporary readers a unique opportunity to learn from Miriam's lessons.