Within These Walls of Sorrow: A Novel of World War II Poland

by Amanda Barratt

Overview

Christy Awards 2023 BOOK OF THE YEAR and winner for best Historical Fiction 2023, by multiple-time Christy winner and widely-acclaimed author, Amanda Barratt.
"As superbly written as it is haunting in its truth." —Kate Breslin, best-selling author of For Such a Time
"This tense WWII historical from Barratt (My Dearest Dietrich) follows a woman’s efforts to help her neighbors survive the Kraków ghetto. . . . Moving and effective, this inspirational finds light in the darkest of places."—Publishers Weekly
"Meticulous research and lush, award-winning writing result in an emotionally moving story about a group of unsung heroes who fought for hope and humanity in the most harrowing of times."—Midwest Book Review

Zosia Lewandowska knows the brutal realities of war all too well. Within weeks of Germany's invasion of her Polish homeland, she lost the man she loves. As ghetto walls rise and the occupiers tighten their grip on the city of Krakow, Zosia joins pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz and his staff in the heart of the Krakow ghetto as they risk their lives to aid the Jewish people trapped by Nazi oppression.
Hania Silverman's carefree girlhood is shattered as her family is forced into the ghetto. Struggling to survive in a world hemmed in by walls and rife with cruelty and despair, she encounters Zosia, her former neighbor, at the pharmacy. As deportation winnow the ghetto's population and snatch those she holds dear, Hania's natural resiliency is exhausted by reality.
Zosia and Hania's lives intertwine as they face the griefs and fears thrust upon them by war, until one day, they are forced to make a desperate choice . . . one that will inexorably bind them together, even as they are torn apart.
Amanda Barratt's meticulous research and lush, award-winning writing shine once again in this moving look at a group of unsung heroes who fought for hope and humanity in the most harrowing of times.

"An unflinching tale that implores readers to stop and see, not a massive crowd of people, but individual hearts and souls. This book will linger in your heart and mind long after you've read the final page." —Amanda Cox, Christy Award-winning author of The Edge of Belonging

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780825447013
Publisher:	Kregel Publications
Publication date:	01/17/2023
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	307,744
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Amanda Barratt is the multi-Christy Award-winning and ECPA best-selling author of several novels and novellas, including My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Lost Love. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a two-time FHL Reader’s Choice Award finalist. She and her family live in northern Michigan. Visit her at www.amandabarratt.net.

Editorial Reviews

10/24/2022

This tense WWII historical from Barratt (My Dearest Dietrich) follows a woman’s efforts to help her neighbors survive the Kraków ghetto. Zosia Lewandowska is a widow living in Kraków, Poland, when the Nazis crack down on the local Jewish community in the early 1940s. Caught up in the Nazis’ brutality are Zosia’s neighbors, the Silbermans, who are forced to move to the ghetto. Confronted with rumors of the suffering going on there, Zosia seizes an opportunity to work at a pharmacy in the ghetto and joins a small group of civilians who organize to smuggle food and medicine to those trapped inside. As efforts to “liquidate” the ghetto accelerate, Zosia teams up with the Silbermans’ eldest daughter, Hania, to help the family escape while Zosia grapples with how to live up to her Christian morals in the face of atrocities. The narrow focus on Zosia, Hania, and their associates provides an intimate look at the Holocaust, capturing how faith and selflessness can persist even in dire times. Moving and effective, this inspirational finds light in the darkest of places. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Amanda Barratt's meticulous research and lush, award-winning writing result in an emotionally moving story about a group of unsung heroes who fought for hope and humanity in the most harrowing of times. A timely reminder of the evils of Nazism in view of the rising presence of authoritarianism in America over the past few years, Within These Walls of Sorrow is especially and unreservedly recommended."

Midwest Book Review

In Within These Walls of Sorrow, Amanda Barratt tenderly honors the experiences of Polish Jews during the German occupation by drawing readers into the inner lives of a few ordinary people who find themselves immersed in unimaginable horrors designed to strip a people of their identity and worth. Barratt weaves an unflinching tale that implores readers to stop and see, not a massive crowd of people, but individual hearts and souls. This book will linger in your heart and mind long after you’ve read the final page and will leave you with the question, Would you choose self-preservation or stand in the face of evil for a slim chance at saving another, aware that everything you have to give can’t possibly be enough?

Amanda Cox

As superbly written as it is haunting in its truth, Within These Walls of Sorrow unveils the darkness of inhumanity and the soul-wrenching fate of thousands in Poland during Hitler’s reign of terror in WWII. Once again Amanda Barratt captures with riveting intensity the lives of her characters who fight to survive against insurmountable odds before the maw of the Nazi beast. Yet amid the despair and loss, she shines a fine, beautiful light on the hope, courage, and dignity of these people—enough to make one weep. Within These Walls of Sorrow should be required reading for this generation, and for any who continue to deny the Holocaust. Truly a tour de force.

Kate Breslin

Barratt refuses to look away or ignore the heartbreak and depredations imposed upon the Jews of Poland during the Holocaust. With writing both sensitive and courageous, she brings to life the physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental hardships that those forced into the ghettos endured. In the midst of the sorrow, though, are glimmers of goodness, light, and hope that will encourage the reader that God is still sovereign and that He can be found even in the worst circumstances. Through the power of story, Barratt shows that even the smallest kindness can change a life.

Erica Vetsch

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend, and Amanda Barratt’s heartrending novel shows this truth in stark and powerful reality. Amid the Nazi terrors of war-torn Krakow, the love of family and the bonds of friendship withstand the ultimate test of faith and courage to emerge victorious. Within These Walls of Sorrow is an emotional journey that acknowledges both the horror of war and the resilience of the human spirit.

Stephanie Landsem