Dara B

Dara B by Josiane Behmoiras The simple affecting
storytelling in this memoir makes for powerful reading. A
single mother and her daughter living on the streets of
Paris then sent to Israel is a testament to survival of
body and spirit. What I found most touching that despite
the mother’s mental illness no doubt caused if not
exacerbated by World War 2 as a Jewish woman the loving
bond between mother and daughter is never broken. It is
astounding what the mother is able to create with so
little: using boiled onion skins to dye her hair; hand
sewing a dress out of an old nightie; cooking scavenged
food on a makeshift gas burner. All around is the kindness
of strangers as well as cruelty from those who also
struggle post war with their own demons. This memoir is
also a reminder that those who suffer with serious mental
illness need kindness compassion and proper care. That the
daughter bereft of a proper home and a decent education is
finally able to make her way in the world on her own terms
is truly remarkable.