Cilka's Journey is the story of a young Jewish girl that is singled out for her looks in German concentration camps for her looks. This allows her to survive when so many women she comes into contact die, but it results in her being sentenced to the Gulag in Siberia at the end of World War II for being perceived as helping the Nazis. There really isn't any part of her experiences that isn't heartbreaking, and yet despite her shame and anguish she does what for many would be unthinkable - continue to get up every day and live, and hope that by showing concern and compassion for others that someone, anyone, will look at her and see a good person. And there are people that do, that become friends, but unfortunately for Cilka they aren't people that can end her time in the labor camp. This was a beautiful story that once again is a reminder to me that even when I face my own personal battles there are people out there that have dealt with so much worse and survived and even thrived.