" Cilka's Journey" - Heather Morris. Author of best seller "The Tattooist Of Auschwitz" .

A work of fictional novel based on the life of Cilka Klein and family. A woman whose life the reader will follow from Cilka at sixteen into womanhood. A tenacious woman whose will to survive.....to live is unbelievable. From concentration camp to life in frigid Siberia. And, in the face of this struggle she is able to love.

This author has given us a work...a woman who is unforgettable.

Cilka’s Journey is another heartfelt, thought-provoking tale from the author of the renown Tattooist of Auschwitz. When Auschwitz-Birkenau is liberated by the Russian army, Cilka’s time at the death camp comes to a close but her story of hardship does not end there. She is branded a traitor by the Russians and sent to the Siberian prison Gulag to serve a 15 year sentence. While there, she must face head-on the many difficult circumstances that cause negative flashbacks of her time in Auschwitz and learn to persevere nonetheless.

As with the Tattooist of Auschwitz, this is a story that desperately needed to be told and I applaud Heather Morris for doing so. It is evident the immense amount of research Morris did to learn and portray the essence and spirit of the real-life Cilka. Much is written about WWII and the holocaust, but there is little portraying the darkness and unspeakable indignities beheld by those sent to Russian prisons. Morris does so with honesty, heart and understanding.

The only negative I have to add is that at times I felt that the portrayal of Cilka’s character in such a saint-like manner was highly unrealistic. Morris successfully brings across the point that women in Auschwitz were forced to commit uncharacteristic and misunderstood acts solely in order to ensure their survival. Understandably, along with this comes an inordinate amount of guilt. However, Cilka was still human and I would’ve loved to have had her character a little more well-rounded, with perhaps a selfish or untoward thought every once in awhile. For this, I am giving this 4 1/2 stars rather than 5, still an amazing accomplishment. This will be a guaranteed 2020 hit, enjoyed by library goers and book clubs alike.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Heather Morris for the privilege of receiving a complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I would consider The Tattooist of Auschwitz to be a five star book, and this one held its own pretty well at four stars. Cilka’s story, although partially fabricated and weaved together from the limited information, really painted a picture of life in Auschwitz and the Soviet camps that followed. It was a heartbreaking story just as our history is often heartbreaking. It focused on real and raw subjects and gives clarity to a particularly grievous time in history, and shows the reader how complicated that era was and how hard it was to survive. It’s horrific to imagine the judgment that was passed upon prisoners of Auschwitz for doing what was necessary, and subsequently for being punished further for having managed to endure the death camp. Cilka was indeed a very brave person, and Heather Morris is to be commended for continuing the legacy of a brave woman who was punished for her stoicism. I only wish that more records of Cilka’s life had survived so I could feel like I’m reading more fact than fiction (unlike Lale’s story in the Tattooist of Auschwitz). Regardless, there is enough information on Cilka’s life to construct a solid idea of her life (and enough information on the countless others who endured similar hardships). Like Lale, and because of Heather Morris, Cilka might be one of the bravest people many of us will ever “know”.

Incredible story of survival, living through such horrible events....this is the story of Cilka who survives concentration camp, not only once but, twice. The courage to survive was astounding, so heart wrenching, so emotional.
It is based on a true story which makes this book so incredibly heartbreaking.
I highly recommend you read this book.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author, Heather Morris, for the privilege to read the arc of “Cilka’s Journey.” This is my true and honest review.

I read about the life of Lale Sokolov in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. In that book, Lale spoke of many people he met at Auschwitz - Cilka’s Journey tells the story of Cilka Klein. Cilka was a brave, strong, intelligent girl who was punished for doing what had to be done to survive. Cilka's Journey is a wonderful read and is an example of how we can be strong if we dig deep enough to find that strength. It’s so difficult to understand that less than 100 years ago, the atrocities described in the book were going on. We skim the surface of these stories in our history classes and imagine the people as simply characters in a horrible tale. Books like Cilka’s Journey bring the memories of these people to life. Let’s learn from the experience’s of those who have gone before us. 4⭐️

Another beautiful, emotionally-driven novel from Heather Morris!

Cilka had already endured the horrors of the Holocaust for three years, but her story of survival doesn’t end there. After being liberated by the Russians, she once again has her freedom ripped away when she is charged with sleeping with the enemy, but this time there is an end date in sight. Fifteen years.

Cilka is sent to a prison camp in Siberia, where she faces inhumane treatment that is all too familiar to her. While many of the women prisoners have never experienced a place quite like it, Cilka’s time in the concentration camp had, in a way, primed her to deal with it, in turn allowing her to help the others survive the terrible ordeal. After befriending a female doctor, Cilka finds a purpose while there at the camp as she tends to the sick and dying. But is it enough to push Cilka to survive herself?

When Lale referred to Cilka as the bravest person he’d ever met, that really resonated with me, and now after hearing her story I couldn’t agree more. After everything she had been through at Auschwitz-Birkenau, I would’ve thought her spirit would be broken. But somehow she managed to push through and focus on helping others live, even when at times she didn’t want to live herself. She was given the opportunity to have safer, more comfortable living conditions but turned it down to stay with the women she’d grown close to while at the prison camp. She was even offered help after saving the daughter of a Commandant, but instead asked that her friend and friend’s baby be helped first. That’s just who Cilka was, always putting others before herself, and those around her saw and felt that. I truly believe it was her kind heart and selflessness that saved her.

Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2697435611

Such a lovely book. This was a wonderful follow-up to the Tattooist of Auschwitz, also written by the same author and similarly detailing a true tale of the life of someone during the Holocaust. The trials and tribulations of Cilka were touching as well as riveting for me. I felt a kinship with her as she traveled from Auschwitz ultimately to the Gulag where she was held for an extended period of time. The insight into what occurred during Stalin's regime in Russia was eye-opening, leading me to realize the atrocities that were committed in the name of Russia. I feel that this is a very important lesson for many of us to understand and become more familiar with and I challenge all of you to attempt to read this book with the same mindset you would read a book about the Holocaust - that these are acts that cannot be let to stand and that hopefully we are all on the same page about not allowing something like this to occur again.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an extraordinary read. Cilka was an amazing woman. So glad I got to read her story, I was eager to know more about her after reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Her strength and bravery goes beyond words. Highly recommended both books.

An incredible book rich in history, blended with characters that will stay with me for some time. Beautifully written and interwoven with character from her previous novel (The Tatooist of Auschwitz) the reader will become emotionally involved and cheer for the main character of this book. A must read showcasing the human spirit and the willingness to open her heart regardless of what has happened previously. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to have read this book prior to publication and cannot wait read another title by this gifted author.

I enjoyed reading this fiction book that is based on a real person and real circumstances. I was shocked at the reason why Cilka was sent to the Russian Gulag. She had an amazing spirit! I loved this book!

Absolutely fantastic book. I couldn't put it down. I have not read "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" but I will now. This book was totally absorbing even though conditions under which Cilka lived were horrific. It is a reminder of what can happen, what has happened, and what must not happen again. While fictionalized, the story is based on the experiences of a real person and I thoroughly enjoyed the information at the end which put Cilka's life into perspective in terms of the version I had just read. An amazing accomplishment from an author who deserves to be recognized for hard work and persistence in writing something of significance.

I didn’t read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, so I was not familiar with this author but I must say I am impressed. The hours of research and details she put into her work are very evident and makes the story come alive. Cilka’s Journey was a riveting glimpse into the further horrors that many survivors of the concentrations camps had to endure, which I didn’t know about. I can only imagine if Mrs. Morris interviewed the real Cilka what a further journey could have told. I think anything dealing with this subject matter tends to either hook people with fascination or turn them off, I would say to anyone not wanting to read this book because of the subject, to read it. It is so much more than talking about the atrocities of the Nazi’s and the Russian’s, it is about hope, friendships, and one girl’s strength of mind and character.
For me, while I liked reading the story and thought it really well done, I did not care for the authors writing style. The flashbacks while necessary seemed disjointed and needed a bit more. But then, the author is trying to place you in Cilka’s mind and into her disjointed and scattered thoughts. Spoiler- After reading the authors notes at the end, I was actually a little let down that this was a fictional story interwoven with real facts. Yes, the author went so far as to visit the real Cilka’s hometown, interviewed those who knew her, and found as much as she possibly could about her. But then it left me wondering if the real Cilka could have gotten away with training up as a nurse and being allowed such freedoms as was written when no one (other prisoners) else did.
Overall however, I really enjoyed the book and the glimpse into history and I applaud the author for all her research and for writing about such a tough subject and not letting it be forgotten. Highly recommend.

Cilka's Journey is a remarkable work of historical fiction that follows Cilka Klein and her life after Auschwitz-Birkenau to the Vorkuta Gulag. The story mostly takes place in Vorkuta, with flashback scenes to her life in Auschwitz and what she had to do in order to survive, and her life before, as a young girl.

I loved this book from beginning to end. The story is woven together magnificently and the reader really gets a feel of who Cilka was and the horrendous things she had to deal with. She is a fighter, and it shows throughout the book. I enjoyed The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but I think this book was even better. One of my top reads for 2019 so far.

#Cilka’sJourney #NetGalley
The author of Cilka’s Journey, Heather Morris, takes memories from Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors and creates Cilka. There actually was a Jewish woman named Cecilia Kline.
It’s August 1945 and a young woman is finally freed after three years from the horrors and atrocities of the concentration camp. Part of her time there she was forced into prostitution with German officers. But now the Russians take over, declare her a traitor, and sentence her to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberia.
Through flashbacks, we learn about her early happy years.
This is a hard read as Cilka suffers from inhuman treatment. She and her hut mates have little heat, a bucket to use as a toilet and barely enough food to survive, usually a thin broth and a piece of hard bread. During the day they are sent to the coal mines to fill pails with coal.
Cilka eventually gets a job in the hospital and is able to smuggle food left over by the patients to her group of women. This is a story of determination and bravery to try to live out her sentence. Again, she is forced to have sex, now by the Russians.
Can she endure and someday get to live a normal life?
Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, has written another incredible powerful book.
Read it and “Never Forget”. These horrors in Germany and Russia were real even if the characters were not.

I appreciate receiving an advance copy of Heather Morris's new novel, Cilka's Journey, courtesy of NetGalley, and highly recommend it for readers of WWII Holocaust fiction. This gut wrenching and harrowing story, well researched and based on actual prisoners, was so compelling and we'll written that I couldn't put it down. This was my first introduction to the horrors of post war Russian Siberian labor camps. I remain amazed at the strength and spirit of the survivors, so well portrayed in this book. The relationship to the Tattooist of Auschwitz is explained, but this novel stands alone on it's own merit.

I really liked this story about a woman and the things happening to her during the 1940’s. If you like books with a Nazi theme you will like this one. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this excellent book.

Sometimes you finish a book and you want to ask the author "whatever happened to . . ." Well, here's your chance.
If you read and enjoyed Tattooist of Auschwitz, you will definitely want to follow Cilka's Journey. She was an important secondary character, but now we can read the rest of her story. And it's very much worth the read.

Neither of these books is an easy read. but especially because they're based on true stories, they're important.

I cannot wait to see what Heather brings us next.

I wasn't able to get very far into this book before setting it aside. The story seemed to be moving too quickly for me to get any grasp on the characters, and so it just didn't hold my interest.

Another wonderful brilliant book by Heather Morris. What this young girl had to go through in her young life is unimaginable. These stories that has has brought us absolutely wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time you have so many emotions going through you as you read this book.

Chika's Journey is a beautiful novel written bye Heather Morris. You can tell bye her writing that the author has genuine immense feelings for Chika. This novel made me cry tears of sadness, pain, and happiness it has been a long time since a novel has made me feel such raw emotions for the characters. This is a must read for readers who enjoy reading about the lives that were changed bye Hitler and World War II. I highly recommend Chika's Journey. If I could give 20 stars I would.