I am a passionate educator who has worked in schools and TAFE colleges for most of my life.  With the skills gained through my scientific training, I have researched the history of my childhood in Hungary.  I have tried to present that information with minimal sentimentality or commentary, as the context for the focus of the book: my mother's persistence and courage, demonstrated by the sharing of personal anecdotes and intimate, difficult memories.  I live in the Blue Mountains in NSW, Australia.