A Hidden Life
Encyclopedia
A Hidden Life is a memoir by the Dutch-American author Johanna Reiss
. Reiss won the Newbery Honor for her account of her experiences as a child during the Holocaust, The Upstairs Room
, which was followed by a sequel The Journey Back (both published by HarperCollins
).
In A Hidden Life, Johanna Reiss
recounts her visit to the home of her youth and the tragedy that followed. She had been 10 years old at the beginning of World War II
, and spent nearly three years hiding from the Nazis with a family in rural Holland. In the postwar period, she immigrated to the United States. After living there for several years, she decided to visit the family that aided her during the harrowing Nazi years. She made this journey in the summer of 1969, spending nearly two months in Holland with her husband and her two young children. While there, she had to confront her painful memories. But during that time, a worse and more immediate tragedy befell her: her husband returned to America early and committed suicide. A Hidden Life, which Lucy Kavaler calls "one of the most moving books" she has ever read, is the story of one woman's perseverance through past and present tragedy.
Johanna Reiss
Johanna Reiss is a Dutch-born American writer and longtime resident of New York City. Her most recent work, A Hidden Life, was published by Melville House Publishing in January 2009...
. Reiss won the Newbery Honor for her account of her experiences as a child during the Holocaust, The Upstairs Room
The Upstairs Room
The Upstairs Room is a Holocaust survivor autobiography by the author Johanna Reiss documenting her childhood in occupied Holland during the Nazi invasion...
, which was followed by a sequel The Journey Back (both published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
).
In A Hidden Life, Johanna Reiss
Johanna Reiss
Johanna Reiss is a Dutch-born American writer and longtime resident of New York City. Her most recent work, A Hidden Life, was published by Melville House Publishing in January 2009...
recounts her visit to the home of her youth and the tragedy that followed. She had been 10 years old at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and spent nearly three years hiding from the Nazis with a family in rural Holland. In the postwar period, she immigrated to the United States. After living there for several years, she decided to visit the family that aided her during the harrowing Nazi years. She made this journey in the summer of 1969, spending nearly two months in Holland with her husband and her two young children. While there, she had to confront her painful memories. But during that time, a worse and more immediate tragedy befell her: her husband returned to America early and committed suicide. A Hidden Life, which Lucy Kavaler calls "one of the most moving books" she has ever read, is the story of one woman's perseverance through past and present tragedy.