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A Single Desperate Prayer: A Memoir
2020 Eric Hoffer Award Winner for Best Self - Published Book.
2020 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award Winner for Best First Book By Debut Authors.
2020 Finalist for Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Short - List.
2020 Finalist for Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award.
2020 Finalist for Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal.
More than a memoir, A Single Desperate Prayer is a riveting account of one resilient girl’s life in a Crimean ghetto, replete with equal amounts of tragedy and triumph.
Told through the eyes of a child, the reader witnesses Ludmila’s growth and maturation as she starts from practically nothing, learns how to beg in the streets, loses all of what little she had, is left to the wolves, and then saved by grace—all before her fifteenth birthday.
Witness the miracles that her single prayer brought to life. Without being preachy—because children certainly aren’t—Ludmila lets you see what happens when you open yourself up to the power of faith. You’ll be on the edge of your seat; you’ll laugh; you’ll cry. You’ll get angry at the injustice, and you’ll champion our heroine. You can’t help but love and celebrate Ludmila as she learns how the forces of good work in a world that seems totally dark, and how a heart transformed can withstand anything.
How hopeless can a child get? Ludmila got there.
How did she escape her condition? A single desperate prayer.
Ludmila had to wait a considerable time for her prayer to be answered. The underlying beauty of her story lies in what she did while she waited.
This gripping story appeals to a wide audience, from children to adults, from adoptive parents to those considering it. People who’ve been orphaned, or lost, or are looking for a way out. Those who need inspiration, and are searching for a practical way to find happiness and purpose in life. This page-turning story is sure to enrich every reader’s life with its powerful message of determination and hope.
2020 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award Winner for Best First Book By Debut Authors.
2020 Finalist for Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Short - List.
2020 Finalist for Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award.
2020 Finalist for Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal.
More than a memoir, A Single Desperate Prayer is a riveting account of one resilient girl’s life in a Crimean ghetto, replete with equal amounts of tragedy and triumph.
Told through the eyes of a child, the reader witnesses Ludmila’s growth and maturation as she starts from practically nothing, learns how to beg in the streets, loses all of what little she had, is left to the wolves, and then saved by grace—all before her fifteenth birthday.
Witness the miracles that her single prayer brought to life. Without being preachy—because children certainly aren’t—Ludmila lets you see what happens when you open yourself up to the power of faith. You’ll be on the edge of your seat; you’ll laugh; you’ll cry. You’ll get angry at the injustice, and you’ll champion our heroine. You can’t help but love and celebrate Ludmila as she learns how the forces of good work in a world that seems totally dark, and how a heart transformed can withstand anything.
How hopeless can a child get? Ludmila got there.
How did she escape her condition? A single desperate prayer.
Ludmila had to wait a considerable time for her prayer to be answered. The underlying beauty of her story lies in what she did while she waited.
This gripping story appeals to a wide audience, from children to adults, from adoptive parents to those considering it. People who’ve been orphaned, or lost, or are looking for a way out. Those who need inspiration, and are searching for a practical way to find happiness and purpose in life. This page-turning story is sure to enrich every reader’s life with its powerful message of determination and hope.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2019
3 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 3, 2025
A Single Desperate Prayer is a touching memoir that captures hope in the darkest moments. Ludmilla Ritz’s story reminds readers that miracles often begin with faith.
November 3, 2025
A Single Desperate Prayer is an emotional and uplifting true story. Ludmilla Ritz shares her pain and triumph with honesty, leaving readers inspired by the power of belief.
October 31, 2025
One of the most uplifting memoirs I’ve read in a long time. It shows how one small prayer can change a life
October 29, 2025
A Single Desperate Prayer is a powerful true story of survival, faith, and transformation. Through Ludmila’s eyes, we witness heartbreak, resilience, and the miracle born from one desperate plea. It’s raw, emotional, and deeply inspiring, a reminder that even in life’s darkest moments, hope can still find a way.
October 31, 2025
I loved every moment of this memoir. It’s inspiring, touching, and a testament to the human spirit.
October 29, 2025
A deeply spiritual memoir that shows what real faith looks like in the hardest moments. It reminded me that prayers don’t always bring instant answers, but they always bring transformation. Beautifully written.
October 29, 2025
This is a powerful and emotional story of faith, survival, and hope. Ludmila’s journey from despair to grace is deeply moving and beautifully told an inspiring read that stays with you long after the last page
October 29, 2025
This story broke my heart and healed it at the same time.
It’s told with such honesty that you feel every moment as if you’re living it alongside her. Definitely a must read.
It’s told with such honesty that you feel every moment as if you’re living it alongside her. Definitely a must read.
October 29, 2025
One of the most uplifting memoirs I’ve read in a long time. It shows how one small prayer can change a life
June 26, 2019
Ditto to everything in the book description and back cover! I expect this book to find a wide, wide audience absolutely pleased to read and truly take-in this book. Written in the voice of a child, it's easy to read. Written by a street-smart creative genius, it plays-out like a feature film.
If you're like me, you'll be itching for the next one.
If you're like me, you'll be itching for the next one.
July 29, 2024
Like any other topic, religion can be addressed with either a theoretical or a practical approach. Compare a meeting of the College of Cardinals in which arcane interpretations of the sacrament are debated, for example, to Mother Teresa laying her hands on the poor and sick. Ludmila Ritz’s “A Single Desperate Prayer” gets down and dirty, illustrating the real-world problems for which faith in God is the best solution. Ritz, the child of an absent father and heroin-addicted mother, grew up in the slums of Ukraine, and this book reflects her upbringing. When, late in the book, her single desperate prayer to Jesus was answered, her response was,
Holy crap!….I couldn’t wait to start my new life and get the hell out of here. (pp. 273, 281)
By this point, we couldn’t wait for her to get the hell out of there, either. One of the book’s miracles is that Ritz maintains her humanity during the first 90% of the memoir, which details a life so horrific that her mere survival is another miracle. She suffers neglect, abandonment, beatings, and near starvation before her tenth birthday, and is a heavy smoker and exchanging sexual favors for food while still in elementary school – or rather, still the age for elementary school, since she didn’t actually start school until she turned twelve.
Since she didn’t learn to read and write until fairly late in her childhood, and then had to start all over again in English after moving to the United States, we should not expect Shakespeare. She tells her story with a minimum of fuss, with only a bit of foreshadowing here and there to disrupt the here-and-now tone of the book. But the story she tells is so riveting that high-flown writing would be a distraction. The feeling of “Oh God, what’s next?” is shared by the author and reader as we learn about the life of a heroin addict’s daughter, a woman not ashamed to send her five-year-old out into the winter streets to beg for vinegar to make more heroin.
Ritz’s spirit is what makes the book so engaging. Instead of simply complaining about how miserable her life is, she’s always on the lookout for the next opportunity to make things better, always trying to make new friends and help her family.
Still, the obstacles were formidable. She was not allowed outside until she was five years old, and her first encounter with other kids did not go well:
I could tell they were whispering about me, and I knew it wasn’t good. I demanded that they tell me what they were saying about me.
Big mistake.
Maybe I didn’t know it then, but I was about to find out. The truth hurts, as the saying goes. They were right: I was dirty and stinky; I was wearing the same clothes a lot; I didn’t have a nice hairdo. I didn’t know what school was, my mom was a druggie, and I was begging for food.
But she never gives up, and we smile along with her when she finds scattered occasions for joy – her first Christmas play, being taught how to dance, finding an apricot tree that offered both sweet fruits as well as a place of respite. For those looking for religious inspiration, it’s fair to point out that there is almost no mention of God at all in the first 90% of the book, and the ‘single desperate prayer’ is truly that – it is the only event she mentions in which God seems to play a role in her life.
The book concludes at a pivotal moment in the protagonist’s life, hinting at future changes and new experiences. Many readers, myself included, are eager to learn more about what happens next and hope the author will consider writing a sequel to explore the character’s ongoing journey.
Holy crap!….I couldn’t wait to start my new life and get the hell out of here. (pp. 273, 281)
By this point, we couldn’t wait for her to get the hell out of there, either. One of the book’s miracles is that Ritz maintains her humanity during the first 90% of the memoir, which details a life so horrific that her mere survival is another miracle. She suffers neglect, abandonment, beatings, and near starvation before her tenth birthday, and is a heavy smoker and exchanging sexual favors for food while still in elementary school – or rather, still the age for elementary school, since she didn’t actually start school until she turned twelve.
Since she didn’t learn to read and write until fairly late in her childhood, and then had to start all over again in English after moving to the United States, we should not expect Shakespeare. She tells her story with a minimum of fuss, with only a bit of foreshadowing here and there to disrupt the here-and-now tone of the book. But the story she tells is so riveting that high-flown writing would be a distraction. The feeling of “Oh God, what’s next?” is shared by the author and reader as we learn about the life of a heroin addict’s daughter, a woman not ashamed to send her five-year-old out into the winter streets to beg for vinegar to make more heroin.
Ritz’s spirit is what makes the book so engaging. Instead of simply complaining about how miserable her life is, she’s always on the lookout for the next opportunity to make things better, always trying to make new friends and help her family.
Still, the obstacles were formidable. She was not allowed outside until she was five years old, and her first encounter with other kids did not go well:
I could tell they were whispering about me, and I knew it wasn’t good. I demanded that they tell me what they were saying about me.
Big mistake.
Maybe I didn’t know it then, but I was about to find out. The truth hurts, as the saying goes. They were right: I was dirty and stinky; I was wearing the same clothes a lot; I didn’t have a nice hairdo. I didn’t know what school was, my mom was a druggie, and I was begging for food.
But she never gives up, and we smile along with her when she finds scattered occasions for joy – her first Christmas play, being taught how to dance, finding an apricot tree that offered both sweet fruits as well as a place of respite. For those looking for religious inspiration, it’s fair to point out that there is almost no mention of God at all in the first 90% of the book, and the ‘single desperate prayer’ is truly that – it is the only event she mentions in which God seems to play a role in her life.
The book concludes at a pivotal moment in the protagonist’s life, hinting at future changes and new experiences. Many readers, myself included, are eager to learn more about what happens next and hope the author will consider writing a sequel to explore the character’s ongoing journey.
September 13, 2020
Hard hitting and simply amazing
American here. In the relative safety of the USA we tend to view anyone with white skin as privileged and take for granted the basic standard of living all in this country have. If you feel you're underprivileged or have been beaten down by American society, read this book. The author took the desperate step of putting herself into an orphanage after more than 10 years of extreme poverty, neglect, and abuse. Can you realistically say you have ever been so desperate for a moderately safe and stable place regardless of your race? Can you say you've ever been so hopeless with the hand life dealt you that you gave your fate over to perfect strangers? Moreover can you say that nobody absolutely nobody cared what you did or where you went? Mrs. Ritz knows such pain and loneliness. She pulls no punches, doesn't sugarcoat, and her poignancy drives her story from the first page to the last. Recommend highly.
American here. In the relative safety of the USA we tend to view anyone with white skin as privileged and take for granted the basic standard of living all in this country have. If you feel you're underprivileged or have been beaten down by American society, read this book. The author took the desperate step of putting herself into an orphanage after more than 10 years of extreme poverty, neglect, and abuse. Can you realistically say you have ever been so desperate for a moderately safe and stable place regardless of your race? Can you say you've ever been so hopeless with the hand life dealt you that you gave your fate over to perfect strangers? Moreover can you say that nobody absolutely nobody cared what you did or where you went? Mrs. Ritz knows such pain and loneliness. She pulls no punches, doesn't sugarcoat, and her poignancy drives her story from the first page to the last. Recommend highly.
August 9, 2022
This book came to me by accident. But once I started it was hard to put down. Heart wrenching from the first page but thought provoking at the same time. The author is made of grit and is tough as nails. But she also managed to keep compassion and hope alive. Thank you for sharing.
October 31, 2025
Ludmila Ritz delivers a raw and heartfelt memoir of survival and faith. Her story of growing up in hardship and neglect in post-Soviet Ukraine is both painful and inspiring. Though the spiritual turn comes late, the honesty and strength in her voice make this a powerful, uplifting read.
February 11, 2024
An incredible story of a young girls journey that keeps you on the edge of your seat with every chapter! Beautifully written and captivating a must read for sure!
October 28, 2025
I read this with my morning coffee each day and it set the tone for my week. Honest, humble, and deeply reflective. It’s more than a memoir; it’s a quiet conversation with faith itself.
November 3, 2025
A Single Desperate Prayer is a powerful and heartfelt story of faith and perseverance. Ludmilla Ritz’s journey shows how one sincere prayer can change everything. Inspiring and deeply moving.
November 4, 2025
Ludmila’s story is a testament to hope and the human spirit. A must-read for anyone facing challenges.
December 4, 2025
This story swept me right into the heart of raw emotion and unfiltered honesty. Ludmila delivered something unforgettable
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews