This book was initially published in 1946 under the title No Place to Lay One's Head (in French). It quietly disappeared after that until it was discovered in an attic in 2010.
The author was from Poland and opened up a bookstore in Berlin. She really enjoyed her time there, but WWII destroyed that dream and changed the course of her life. She was able to leave Germany, but she wasn't safe in France, either. This is the memoir of her journey to Switzerland.
The writing was good in this memoir, but it ends abruptly once she gets over that border. There's no mention of if she reunites with her family, what happens to her or anything like that. The introduction has a lot more information about her.
The author went through more of a hide and seek/psychological type of experience. If you're on the lookout for certain types of memoirs from survivors from that time period, it's something to keep in mind. What I really found interesting was how little the bookshop had to do with anything. The original title is more appropriate for the content for sure. I liked this one, and it was interesting to get a different perspective. Good Book!
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