What do you think?
Rate this book
A Brilliant Life: An Unforgettable Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz and Learning to Live Again
'A delicate, evocative story of strength and survival that turns on one of the most powerful forces in the known a mother's love.' - Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist
A powerful, true story of a Holocaust survivor told by her daughter - a tale that reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal.
Born in Czechoslovakia, Mira was only 12 years old when World War II broke out and 17 when the Nazis finally caught up with her. Torn apart from her family, she went on to survive four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March when she was too weak to walk. She lived when almost everyone she knew did not.
At 88, living in Australia, Mira is diagnosed with cancer and her daughter, a journalist, decides to interview her to distract her from her illness. As Mira gives her testimony Rachelle comes to understand how Mira's unique perspective - seeing her experiences through the lens of the goodness of the people who helped her - protected her from the depths of humanity's cruelty, and enabled her to go on to live a full and brilliant life.
Rachelle also fits together the jigsaw pieces of her own life as a child of a survivor. She comes to understand that however different their lives have been, she and her mother are uniquely united by a fierce inner strength to live, and a mystery of strange things that always seem to happen around them.
A beautiful story of love, loss, wonder and the deepest kind of trust in life, A Brilliant Life questions the role that fate, chance and destiny play. It is a tribute to family, a story of incredible resilience, and a chronicle of the deep connection between a mother and a child which not even death can destroy.
A powerful, true story of a Holocaust survivor told by her daughter - a tale that reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal.
Born in Czechoslovakia, Mira was only 12 years old when World War II broke out and 17 when the Nazis finally caught up with her. Torn apart from her family, she went on to survive four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March when she was too weak to walk. She lived when almost everyone she knew did not.
At 88, living in Australia, Mira is diagnosed with cancer and her daughter, a journalist, decides to interview her to distract her from her illness. As Mira gives her testimony Rachelle comes to understand how Mira's unique perspective - seeing her experiences through the lens of the goodness of the people who helped her - protected her from the depths of humanity's cruelty, and enabled her to go on to live a full and brilliant life.
Rachelle also fits together the jigsaw pieces of her own life as a child of a survivor. She comes to understand that however different their lives have been, she and her mother are uniquely united by a fierce inner strength to live, and a mystery of strange things that always seem to happen around them.
A beautiful story of love, loss, wonder and the deepest kind of trust in life, A Brilliant Life questions the role that fate, chance and destiny play. It is a tribute to family, a story of incredible resilience, and a chronicle of the deep connection between a mother and a child which not even death can destroy.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2023
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 16, 2024
A Brilliant Life is a beautiful memoir where journalist Rachelle Unreich honours her mother’s extraordinary life.
When Rachelle’s mother Mira was diagnosed with cancer, Rachelle realised that time was running out to hear her mother’s story of how she survived the Holocaust, so Rachelle decided to interview her. Bringing together the past and the present, A Brilliant Life is an astonishing and heart wrenching tale which had me utterly absorbed. I finished reading Mira’s story in less than 24hours.
Although detailing the horrors of concentration camps, death, disease and the evil that humans can be capable of, the goodness of people is what actually shines through in Mira’s story. It was through the kindness of strangers and miracles that Mira survived when so many did not.
“There was a light in my mother that so many others around her saw and that nothing had managed to dim.”
Highlighting the importance of love and family, Rachelle’s love for her mother and her mother’s resilience and bravery were incredibly inspiring and an absolute joy to read. It was a hugely emotional and powerful memoir that saw me shed many tears, but also laugh at Mira’s spiritedness and zest for life.
If you enjoy inspiring memoirs, then I highly recommend A Brilliant Life.
When Rachelle’s mother Mira was diagnosed with cancer, Rachelle realised that time was running out to hear her mother’s story of how she survived the Holocaust, so Rachelle decided to interview her. Bringing together the past and the present, A Brilliant Life is an astonishing and heart wrenching tale which had me utterly absorbed. I finished reading Mira’s story in less than 24hours.
Although detailing the horrors of concentration camps, death, disease and the evil that humans can be capable of, the goodness of people is what actually shines through in Mira’s story. It was through the kindness of strangers and miracles that Mira survived when so many did not.
“There was a light in my mother that so many others around her saw and that nothing had managed to dim.”
Highlighting the importance of love and family, Rachelle’s love for her mother and her mother’s resilience and bravery were incredibly inspiring and an absolute joy to read. It was a hugely emotional and powerful memoir that saw me shed many tears, but also laugh at Mira’s spiritedness and zest for life.
If you enjoy inspiring memoirs, then I highly recommend A Brilliant Life.
December 7, 2024
Loved this book from the first page. It’s beautiful and warm, and shows the decency in humanity amongst the horror. Couldn’t put it down and have recommended it to everyone I know.
Read
March 16, 2025No review necessary
Thank you for telling your mothers story
Thank you for telling your mothers story
December 7, 2024
An incredibly uplifting story of hope, sensitively and lovingly written. You can tell the author is a journo based on the economy of words and evocative phrasing. I loved this book so much.
November 1, 2025
Great true story! felt like I was part of the family❤️
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews