Bitter Honey. The book. Unpublished.

Izabella

Eight-year old Niunia put to work in a labour camp in Stalin’s Siberia. An account of crimes now forgotten. A tale of courage, friendship and humanity in darkness. A true story, the forgotten odyssey of a Polish family uprooted and imprisoned. Who will save little Niunia? Will she ever see her home again? Written by Dr. Janina Czernik-Spyrkowa. Edited, translated and narrated by her daughter. Dedicated to Maria, the main heroine of this tale. This chronicle of memory and landscape is offered with the love of life which is a tribute to both Maria’s and Janina’s spirit. ©℗ Izabella Kay 2020

Episodes

Aug 8, 2020

2 min

Chapter 15 THE RETURN part 2

Fifty years on and the three sisters decide to return to their homeland, still in the Soviet Union. The cruellest fate of the Jewish people recounted. The Orthdox Church. The landscape that sustained.

Aug 8, 2020

27 min

Chapter 15 THE RETURN part 1

Another train journey. Edmund‘s fate in General Anders’ army. A surprise meeting in Egypt. Scattered photos and a broken mirror. New life in newly redrawn Poland.

Aug 8, 2020

29 min

Chapter 14 LILA part 2

1944. Another trip to an unknown land. A new life in Krasnoje. Lila’s sacrifice. Farewells and arrivals. The taste of fruit. Goodbyes.

Aug 8, 2020

34 min

Chapter 14 LILA part 1

Lila’s courage. The fate of Mikolaj and Jakub’s Golden Hut and its inhabitants.

Aug 8, 2020

20 min

Chapter 13 THE JUDGMENT part 2

Niunia’s fall. Soviet chief nurse: ‘You will dance by the end of April’. Those who go and those who return.

Aug 8, 2020

40 min

Chapter 13 THE JUDGMENT part 1

Babushka and famine. Those who go and those who return. The fate of the earrings. Anders army recruits depart. Another unexpected offering. Children to kowchoz in Bashkiria. The loaf of bread.

Aug 8, 2020

27 min

Chapter 12 MIETIELICA part 2

The trip to Bashkiria. Rewda station. The journey to the Mari woman. The Snow storm. ‘Sabaki’? ‘Everybody is afraid’.

Aug 8, 2020

38 min

Chapter 12 MIETIELICA part 1

Klawdia’s secret. Fiedia’s fate. The cabbage fields and the Golden uczastek. Sara’s despair. Merciless winter .

Aug 8, 2020

36 min

Chapter 11 ON THE EDGE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH part 3

Children back to work. Meeting Kopytow again. ‘Praklataya Vajna’. The performance. Famine. The lingonberry trip and the swamp. A King’s feast.

Aug 8, 2020

28 min