On Friday, May 1, at 7:00 p.m. Westport resident and newly published author Helen Martin Block will read from her book, The Shoemaker's Daughter: A Novel, as part of the Westport Writers' Workshop author series.
The novel is a compelling love story set against the backdrop of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Poland. The Shoemaker's Daughter: A Novel is more than a work of historical fiction; it's also tribute to Helen's parents and the unimaginable trials they suffered as Holocaust survivors. Based on years of original research, the book brings the struggles of one family to life and explores the powerful question of why some people choose to stand up and help others in times of crisis while others stand by.
Amidst the Nazis efforts to exterminate the Jews, Gitel and Aron marry and have a daughter. When Ksiaz Wielki is liquidated in 1942, they choose to hide with family in a hayloft. But fear that their young child will give the whole group away forces Gitel and Aron to make a desperate and tragic decision. When conditions in the hayloft, become unbearable, Gitel and Aron leave and find sanctuary with a Polish farmer. Their protector courageously puts his own family’s life in jeopardy to give them shelter. Gitel’s brother joins them and the three hide by day in a vermin-infested bunker, crawling out by night to work the farm in exchange for their protection. Russian soldiers liberate Poland in 1945. Stooped and weak from two years huddled in the bunker, they hobble home to find they are unwelcome. With Gitel pregnant again, they decide to leave Poland forever taking a perilous flight to freedom. Their story is a testament to enduring love, the dream of rebuilding family and the complex journey of accepting the devastating loss of a world they once knew.
Signed copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Friday, May 1, 7:00 p.m.
Cobb's Mill Inn
12 Old Mill Road, Weston
Free entry, cash bar and food available