My grandmother had to look after three children, so she could not find time for herself, and when she found it, she had the house to clean and manage. But despite this, she did not complain, and Ciocia Fela was there to help her. She was a highly intelligent woman and extremely attached to her family. She had a passion for art, especially for fashion, as she made her own clothes. She was always with my grandparents as they used to live in the same house. From an early age, Ciocia Fela decided to keep a diary, talking about her life and she intended to publish it. It is a great fortune that in her stories she also talks about her sister’s new-born son, my father, Jerzy. My incredibly young father has no memories of that historical period because he was born on 12th February 1939, only eight months before the attack by German and then Russian troops on his hometown, Lwów. My great-aunt’s diary recounts events that took place a little before this attack, but in any case, these are essential facts for diving even deeper into the story of my family, and in particular the years in Lwów. Now she will be the protagonist of these pages because she left her memoirs, which were translated many years later, by Uncle Vik, my dad’s brother. Hopefully, they will allow the reader to immerse themselves in our story. It is necessary and interesting to be able to trace the history, up to this point, from the perspective of those who were part of it.
Today we talk about Invisible Threads, a book by Alicja Reilly published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Alicja Reilly to get to know her better, what prompted her to write her book Invisible Threads, as well as how it was her publishing experience.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What prompted you to the writing of your book?
For many years I had heard stories from my parents and grandparents on my father’s side. Stories from my mother’s side of the family. I started writing the book many time, my husband fell ill, the family members in my story are getting older, and lock down gave me the time to actually get it done.
- Who is the audience you wanted to reach when you wrote this book?
I mainly committed our story to paper for our family, so the story does not get lost. As we researched my mum’s side of the family the story became more complex. I was struck by the differences in our two families.
- What particularly significant experiences in your life find expression in your story?
This story is that of my parents rather than my own..as we worked on the story, so many aspects of our history became more and more fascinating:
- noble family vs hard-working working family.
- how children can be shielded from the horrors of war.
- how 2 very different families from the same hometown can take such completely different paths to arrive at the same destination.
- How was your publishing experience?
Illuminating. We found so many fascinating details. We even found a first-hand account from my great aunt, which had been translated by my dad’s brother. We found more details of my mum’s family.
- Are you working on a new writing project you can tell us about?
No.
Europe Books thanks the author Alicja Reilly once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book Invisible Threads. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my dear reader, I hope the story told in the book excites you, resonates with your own personal experiences and gives you some interesting food for thought to apply in your everyday life.
So, my dear reader, I just have to wish you to enjoy your reading!!!
Your editor!