Cilka's Journey

In 1942, at just sixteen years old, Cilka is taken from her home and thrust into the horrors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Her distinct long, beautiful hair captures the attention of Commandant Schwarzhuber, leading to her forced separation from other women prisoners. Cilka swiftly learns the dark reality that even involuntary power can mean the difference between life and death.

Upon the camp's liberation, Cilka is wrongly accused of being a collaborator due to her survival techniques and is sent to Vorkuta, a brutal prison camp in Siberia situated within the icy reaches of the Arctic Circle.

Innocent yet imprisoned once more, Cilka faces new, harsh challenges reminiscent of her past ordeals. Her resilience draws the interest of a female doctor who takes Cilka under her wing. This mentorship allows Cilka to begin working in the camp hospital, where she fights to care for the sick under dire and inhumane conditions. Every day is a battle for survival, but Cilka discovers remarkable strength within herself as she confronts death and faces terror anew. Amidst this grim existence, she tends to a man named Aleksandr, leading her to realise that despite everything, her heart still holds the capacity for love.

Based on real events and testimonies from women who survived Siberian prison camps, Cilka's Journey serves as a breathtaking sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. This novel is a powerful testament to the unbreakable human spirit in the face of grotesque adversity. Heather Morris crafts a story that will not only make you weep but also fill you with awe at one woman's fierce determination to survive against insurmountable odds.

'She was the bravest person I ever met' - Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of Auschwitz