I bought this book today at the library book sale in Raleigh for an average of 14 cents per book.

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I'm mailing this book tomorrow to jumpingin in Canada ... as a RABCK.

Thank you so much for your generosity! This book looks very interesting.

Barbara Armonas, her husband, and their two children werer farmers in Lithuania at the time it was taken over by the USSR. Her husband was an American and the family was planning to move back to the United States. However, the Soviet authorities allowed only her husband an daugther to leave. Thinking this was temporary and would soon be sorted out, Armonas' husband and daugther left, leaving her and her infant son.

Armonas and her son were later deported to Siberia and lived in deplorable conditions. The situation got even more bleak when Armonas was sent to prison.

In this book, Armonas chronicles her life in Lithuania and Siberia. Her story is an example of people's ability to survive what seem to be unsurvivable circumstances.

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Travelling by surface mail to Ireland. I've sent this as a RABCK to KiwiinEngland, a fellow participant in the 6 books, 6 countries, 6 continents reading challenge.

Hurrah - it has arrived. This looks like an interesting read, thanks for sending it jumpinin. It will be interesting to see how the book has dated, with the end of the cold war and the opening up of Lithuania to tourist.

I think the passage of time since this book was written makes the book even more interesting. The Baltic states were invaded by Russia and the resulting communist rule was largely ignored by the international community.

I found it interesting how the author survived, mainly because her husband sent her parcels of American products. But what helped her survive also lead to serious problems for her. In a society where betraying someone as anti the state gave you privileges Barbara was denounced as a political traitor.

I was fascinated by how the communist regime worked for the ordinary person, how to go anywhere you needed permission and the level of fear that permeated society as people betrayed each other in a bid to survive.

Strangely the writer very rarely referred to her son by name, to the point where I forgot what he was called. I would have found it easier to keep track of time if she had also mentioned his age a bit more, I was surprised at one point to find out he was five as I hadn't realised so much time had passed.

A very interesting read indeed. Thank you jumpingin. I will pass this book on to annenz as a RABCK when I visit New Zealand next month.

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Passed on to -Tui- to read, as I think she will enjoy the book.

Read by me as it travels on to the West Coast. The events in this book are well known in my generation, and have remained as a lifestyle for many people in countries oppressed by others. It is a story that could be told in many languages and of people of many colours. Man's inhumanity to man shines forth, and man's inhumanity to women shines brighter. When will we learn

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I am sending this via NZ postal service to Annenz as a RABCK.

Thank you so much for the books:)