WRITING

OTHER WORK | Writing

4 min read

OVERVIEW
In January of 2017 I began looking into my family history. As I dived deeper into research, I uncovered a story about my great-grandmother, Raisa that I knew needed to be told. 

THE DETAILS

The Girl with the Silver Star is a story I carry close to my heart, as it is inspired by the true account of my great-grandmother’s journey during World War II. She survived a corner of history still not well-known today.

As a hailstorm of bombs begins to shatter the city of Minsk, Belarus, Raisa and her family are forced to depart by foot to escape the Nazis. When Raisa and her husband Abraham are separated, Raisa’s love and strength are put to the ultimate test as she finds herself on her own with her two young daughters, Luba and Sofia. Relying on hope, resourcefulness and courage, they endure over 2,500 miles of bombs, starvation, and death before arriving in Uzbekistan.

The Girl with the Silver Star is a powerful journey through war-torn Russia as it illuminates a unique part of WWII history, the ordinary women who became heroes. This story is a tribute to the nameless women, their determination, bravery and unwavering love during some of history’s darkest years. Their stories shouldn’t be forgotten.

My great-grandmother, Raisa & great-grandfather, Abraham

THE CHALLENGE
Write a historical fiction novel based on my great-grandmother.

THE PROBLEM
With neither my great-grandparents or grandparents living, I had only my mom to rely on for bits of information. Unfortunately, my mother had very little information, as these horrific times were spoken about very little.

THE PROCESS

RESEARCH

& gather information

OUTLINE

findings and organize

WRITE

re-write, & write some more

EDIT

with critique partners & professional editor

FINALIZE

manuscript & begin publishing process

RESEARCH

DIGGING INTO MY FAMILY HISTORY
When I found out that my great-grandmother fled Minsk, Belarus during WWII with her two girls in tow and ended up 4,000 km away in Uzbekistan, I knew I needed to explore what happened to them.

I began my search on Google and found an amazing resource, JewishGen.org.

According to their site, approximately 1 million former Soviet Union Jews were evacuated or fled themselves to Uzbekistan and neighboring areas before the German troops entered their cities. They estimate as many as 300,000 deportees perished from disease and starvation, while some died in the line fire serving their country. 152,000 registration cards have been digitized and a database has been made available with names and digital images of the registration cards of those that arrived in Tashkent between 1941-1942.

My great -grandmothers registration card was among them! Later, I also found her parents and sisters cards as well.

Original scans of the registration cards from 1942

"If you don't knock on any doors, none will open." -my mom

REACHING OUT
Once I finished sifting through hours of Google search, I compiled my research together and began drafting a family tree.

From there, I started to reach out to distant relatives. I asked them questions about our relatives and about any information they might have had or even artifacts that could help me.

Soon, I was connected to relatives I had never known about here in the United States and in Russia. From them, I was able to get a more complete family tree and the original letters that Abraham sent to Raisa during the war.

These letters served as the basis to my story and inspired me to share her journey.  

Letters and postcards which were sent to Raisa from Abraham
There were over 50 letters and postacards written in Russian and Yiddish

OUTLINE & WRITE

After translating all the letters into English, I organized my notes and made a rough outline for the book.

From there I began writing. Some days, I wrote for hours and others, I didn’t write at all, but eventually the pieces began to fall together.

I attempted to stay as close to the story as I knew and the rest I filled in with fiction that was as close to what could have happened as possible. Because of this, I spent many more hours researching the details of the war. 

EDIT & FINALIZE

As soon as I completed the entire manuscript, I stepped away from it for a few weeks. When I came back to it, I re-read it and did additional editing.

Next, I joined a critique group and gathered feedback from five readers. After implementing all of the feedback, I was ready to hand it off to a professional editor. After my editor went through the manuscript, I did an additional round of edits and finalized the manuscript for sending to literary agents.

Along with the manuscript, I wrote a query letter, synopsis and blurb to send to prospective agents.

REFLECTION

NEXT STEPS
Currently I am in the process of publishing my novel. The launch date is scheduled for November 17th, 2020! For more information about The Girl with the Silver Star, please visit my author website.