Justa’s Escape
A Journey from WWII Ukraine
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
In this real-life adventure, Justa, youngest of ten children in a Mennonite family in WWII era Ukraine, revisits a childhood in totalitarian Stalinist USSR. When authorities swoop down in the middle of the night to seize neighbor's fathers, Justa begins to dread the dark. Would her beloved papa be next? As both armies--German and Russian--approach, thirteen-year-old Justa and her family hurriedly pack their wagon to flee. What valuables should they take? What must they leave behind? How will the absent brothers find them? Will the family ever be whole again? What dangers do they face? In the end, who will survive?
Endorsements (8)
“Justina Neufeld’s story of her escape to Western Europe and North America during and after World War II is one of the most widely told stories of the Mennonite experience. She has told her story to hundreds of audiences and recorded it in print with her book A Family Torn Apart. Now she has written a new version for young adult readers. Another generation will now have the opportunity to get in touch with a remarkably remembered dramatic past.”
“In the lyric simplicity of free verse, this young girl’s coming-of-age story is heartrending for its honesty. Yet, it is a tribute to life and hope in its recall of the specific details of village life. Memorably recorded details tell us we were alive in this world and that our lives mattered. . . . Faithfulness to a girl’s real lived experience makes this story beautiful, timeless, powerful, and necessary.”
“Justina Neufeld shares in riveting detail the story of her hardships in and escape from war-torn Ukraine, the scattering of her family, her rescue by Peter and Elfrieda Dyck, and her eventual passage to the United States, where she found a home. She recreates the world of her childhood and takes the reader on the difficult travail across Europe. This book provides readers with a journey from which they will emerge grateful and enlightened.”
“This story made me want to return to the classroom just so I could create an immersive unit . . . using Justina’s story as the base text. The universal themes of family, coming of age, and coping with change and loss make the narrative engaging to readers. This story is timely, given the refugee/immigrant situation right now in the US.”
“I highly recommend this book. It deserves great conversations about values, religion, and resiliency. It’s a story about a real refugee, now a vibrant ninety-one-year-old woman, who not only survived but thrived as a nurse, friend, and ambassador of peace.”
“A youthful Justina yearns for adventure and an escape from village life in Ukraine. She ends up on a journey far greater than she imagined or wanted. . . . Neufeld’s narrative is soulful and hopeful, anxious and deeply personal, and ultimately a testament to the reach and power of the Mennonite diaspora amidst the world’s greatest theater of war. Prepare to be reminded of the power of humanity and the good in others.”
“A friend once urged a young Justina Neufeld to record her life. This lyrical adaptation of her longer memoir fulfills that promise, sharing a story that takes readers on her memorable journey from the Ukraine to the United States. Without condescending to readers, she enriches her narrative with important observations about Mennonites, the USSR, World War II, and unchanging human nature.”
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