Hell to Reality: One Prisoner's Journey

by Jack Grylewicz

Peter is trapped. With the Gestapo breathing down his neck, he flees. Will he survive the horrors of war and be reunited with his family or die?Torun, Poland, 1939. Times are perilous for everyone, but especially for the Mayer family. With war at their doorstep, Peter, Mary, and their two sons are trapped and in deep peril.

Through a mandatory sentence, Peter is conscripted to be the Volksdeutsche - informer - for the Gestapo or face death. Having no options, he flees leaving his family behind. Will he survive the horrors of war and once again be reunited with his family or die trying?

Finding his way to his cousin's place, Klaus Kramke, he settles near the border of Germany and Lithuania, becoming one of the hundreds of migratory people with no name, identity, or a home. Tragically, on one of his trips to Lithuania, Peter is brutally attacked and left for dead. Badly injured and losing his memory, he's taken in as a refugee.

In 1940, physically recovered but still with no memory, he's forced to join the Russian army. Soon afterwards, in 1941, the German's invade the Russian and German provinces. Peter is captured and transferred to the infamous Stalag 18 camp for migratory prisoners.

For the first time since he left his home, luck was on Peter's side. Unknown and without memory, he is recognized by his cousin, Klaus. Together, they manage to escape Stalag 18 in 1943 and flee to Olsztyn, eventually making their way back to Torun.

In 1945, the Russians liberate Torun. After the war, Peter's mind is set on true freedom, and the Baltic Sea becomes the pathway to his dream.

Accounts from Hell to Reality are loosely based on the harrowing accounts of war, persecution, and an identity that never left or abandoned Peter. Names and locations were changed for privacy.Order your copy now and read about one man's fight in a grueling war never to be forgotten.

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2019

Reviews

[Renko Dekker · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book came out a while ago, but I only saw it on Nergalley recently. It sounded interesting and that's why I decided to read it.

The premise sounds interesting: in a world shattered by war, one man's fight for survival blurs the lines between memory and reality. This is the harrowing journey of Peter Mayer, a forgotten hero of a forgotten war.

Unfortunately, it fell completely flat. I had much difficulty finishing it but somehow I remained hopeful for it be better a bit further on in the book. The answer was no. It reads as a summary of some long historical narrative but failed to make interesting. Short sentences, no depth in characters, story sometimes skips days/months (nothing happened?) and it was honestly just boring.

1/5 ⭐️

[Arlen10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow a fantastic book

This is an excellent read. True and very engrossing. I have read every ww2 escape book I can find, and this ranks up there with the great escape.

[Ashleigh Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one for me. It's one of my favorite genres to read and I couldn't wait to dig in. At first, I thought it was going to give me some back story and then get into the novel. Unfortunately, this whole novel is tell, don't show. There is very little dialogue here to work with and it didn't pull me into the story like I was hoping. Overall, I think the story would have been better if it had been written a different way.

[B Dubs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love see how dedicated a father is to keep his family safe in such a horrible period of history. Makes one think of all the real families and all the trials they had to face.

[Ruth A. Wisinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story of one man's struggle to save himself and his family from the Nazis.
It wasn't the best written, but definitely captivating. At times, I couldn't put it down!