Let Me Tell You a Story

A Holocaust survivor's moving memoir of a childhood spent in the grips of war and the miracles of chance that kept her safe.

Przemysl, Poland, 1939. No one has explained to two-year-old Renata what war is. She knows her Tatus is in Europe with the Polish Army and that her Mamusia is not allowed to work at the university anymore. She notices that their frequent visitors—among them Great Aunt Zuzia and Uncle Julek—have stopped coming entirely. One morning Mamusia returns home with little yellow, six-pointed stars for them to wear. Renata thinks that they will keep them safe.

June, 1942. Two soldiers burst into their apartment carrying guns. Renata, Mamusia and grandmother ‘Babcia’ are taken to the Ghetto and crammed into one room with other frightened families. The adults are forced to work long hours at the factory. One day Mamusia and Babcia do not return from their shifts. Renata is five years old. Utterly alone, she is passed from place to place and survives through the willingness of ordinary people to take the most deadly risks. Her unlikely blonde hair and blue eyes and other twists of fate save her life but stories become her salvation.

A true story of the horrors of war, Let Me Tell You a Story is a powerful and moving memoir of growing up in extraordinary times.

“Calverley's memoir is no fairy tale—she brings the horrors of war vividly to life—but her survival is miraculous.” ―Publishers Weekly

“An important contribution to the literature of the Holocaust.” ―Booklist