Author Description

In March 1949, Danguole Rudokaite-Raudonikiene's family were among the unfortunate ones who were exiled from Lithuania to the remote settlements of the Soviet Union. Her diary depicts the journey from their beloved homeland to an unfamiliar place in Eastern Siberia through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl. She writes about the horrifying journey on trains used for cattle. These trains did not have any windows. The conditions were gruesome and beyond unsanitary. They were often deprived of food and water for days at a time. Danguole portrays their journey with lots of emotions: happiness was replaced by fear, joy was replaced by sadness, and hope was replaced by despair. She continued writing her diary for a year, describing events, her feelings, and the life of people in Eastern Siberia. The epilogue is a short summation of the events from the ten years Danguole spent in Siberia (names, places, and events are authentic).