In 1938 10-year-old Zosia Slimak was living an idyllic childhood in Eastern Poland, with a farm in the quiet pine forest and a beautiful house in the nearby town.

In September 1939 the Germans invaded Poland from the west, and a few days later the Russians came in from the east – turning Zosia’s idyllic world upside down.

Forced by the Russians to give up the farm and the house, she was sent to a Siberian labour camp, where she struggled to keep up her health and spirit – as well as those of her family.

Released from the camp she travelled to Africa and from there to England, where she has lived since 1948.

This book tells her remarkable story in her own words