Alice Lewis had plenty of opportunity to believe she was forgotten and alone in the first ten years of her life. Ethnic Germans, living in Poland during WWII, Alice and her family were caught up in the aftermath of Hitler's atrocities. Due to a growing hatred for anyone or anything German, their lives were in danger. They had to flee. In her book, By Hands of Strangers, Alice relates a harrowing tale of escape and survival that left her physically and emotionally scarred.
Within a month of escaping the family farm, Alice was separated from her father, then watched her baby brother die of diphtheria, only to become deathly ill, herself. Her mother left Alice in a hospital and then continued to run for her life.
A very young, sick child, Alice was unable to understand the upheaval and turmoil. She drifted in and out of consciousness, waking to air raid sirens, being wrapped and carried to shelters, placed in different beds, treated to food when people got around to it. She knew no one,
Even when her mother reappeared six weeks later, life for Alice didn't improve. Her mother, still grieving the death of her baby son, and helpless to provide for her daughter, was emotionally depleted. Reduced to begging for any morsel of food, struggling just to meet the child's physical needs, she had no emotional strength to love Alice.
For more than a year mother and daughter barely survived. Mother strove to feed Alice's body Alice longed for someone to feed her soul.
Miraculously, Alice and her mother were reunited with her father. They managed to escape to Germany sixteen months after they fled their farm. Though life improved some, they continued to struggle to find shelter and food to meet their needs. Finally, in 1951 Alice, her baby sister, and her mom and dad, immigrated to America.
A poignant, moving tale, By Hands of Strangers, gives the reader a close?up look at the injustices and suffering visited on the innocent due to war and prejudice. With honest pragmatism, Lewis lets her readers understand the way trauma can put rifts between the closest and most loving relationships, and how fighting for survival can turn hearts cold.
But, this book isn't a story of despair. While Alice is honest about the devastation war brought into her life, she has a compelling message, and a reason for telling her heart wrenching story.
Alice desired to tell her story so others would know that there is no circumstance, no hurt, no past which God cannot redeem, and no broken heart which God cannot heal.
"I know there are many hurting people in the world," Alice states. "I want to give them hope that God can heal their hearts. If my story helps that happen in just one person's life, it will have been worth writing." By Hands of Strangers can be purchased by calling toll free 1 877 421 7323 or through wwwpleasantwordbooks.com.
Also available from Amazon.com
It’s not in print yet but you can call the above number after June 1st.
My memories as an immigrant professional woman in Ottawa, Canada 47 years ago. A new life after having survived the liberal war of a new country Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.
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