March is Women’s History Month, and March 8th is International Women’s Day. I’m taking this time to celebrate and honor the women and girls in both of my books. The beginning of March is also Jewish Book Week. In The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey is inspired by a little girl in Poland during World War 2. Young Lalka was seven years old when she became a hidden child of the Holocaust. Her loving mother made the ultimate sacrifice of placing her daughter in a convent to keep her safe. A nun, Sister Teresa, risked her life to hide the child from persecution.
Last week, we lost the oldest known living Holocaust survivor, Rose Girone. Let us pay tribute to her as well. I've attached the link to her story here. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/us/rose-girone-obit/index.html
When I think about honoring women in history, the names of these women might not be known outside their community, family, or friends. It's the everyday woman who can inspire us. This was the case for me. I honored my grandmother and mother by including them in my novel. Although the book is fictionalized, I've kept their stories as realistic as possible.
All the Broken Angels honors women of three generations. The grandmother, who came alone from Czechoslovakia in the early 1900s. Not speaking English, she scrubbed floors in Manhattan skyscrapers and raised her children alone after the death of her husband. The mother, Harriet, who, during the depression, had to quit school to work in a factory and sacrificed so her daughter could have a better life. Cate, Harriet’s daughter. She is restless and uncertain of her future until tragedy strikes, and she finds purpose and meaning in her life by helping veterans.
The beginning of March month is also “Invest in a Vet” week. I’ve also included female veterans in All the Broken Angels and wish to pay tribute to them during this week.