y separately published work icon The Testimony selected work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 The Testimony
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'"These short stories are autobiographical but I am not their main subject. Some pay homage to remarkable people I have known and loved. Some describe unusual places and events and are a kind of testimony."

'But, contrary to what Halina says, none are "commonplace" - whether her stories tell of the gentile nanny who followed Halina's family into the ghetto; the Russian soldier who saved her at the end of the war and nursed her back to health; or the char ladies of Collins Street who first called the newimmigrant a 'refo' before taking her into their hearts.

'Adopted mother Frieda keeps telling the young Halina that if they survive the camps they shall have to testify until they die, but The Testimony is also a record of what comes next for the young Halina: love, a career in pathology, and "her life's work" in human rights - pouring her energy into everything from bursaries for Aboriginal education and books for the victims of the Black Saturday bushfires to bioethics and gay marriage.

'Described by the author as "her last testimony before she drops off the twig", this carefully crafted work is no straightforward autobiography, but one in which the people and places Halina has known take centre stage. The thematic pieces provide jewels of wisdom from a woman who has lived a truly full - richly rewarding but also horrifically harrowing - life. A message of hope, about choosing not to be a victim, and having faith in the goodness of humanity.' (From the publisher's website.)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Well Read Julian Swallow , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 21 April 2012; (p. 20)

— Review of Two Rings : A Story of Love and War Millie Werber , Eve Keller , 2012 single work autobiography ; The Testimony Halina Wagowska , 2012 selected work autobiography
I, Witness Maria Tumarkin , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 - 24 June 2012; (p. 18-19)

— Review of The Testimony Halina Wagowska , 2012 selected work autobiography
Roads Back from Despair David Slucki , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 28 April 2012; (p. 27)

— Review of The Testimony Halina Wagowska , 2012 selected work autobiography ; Two Rings : A Story of Love and War Millie Werber , Eve Keller , 2012 single work autobiography
Roads Back from Despair David Slucki , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 28 April 2012; (p. 27)

— Review of The Testimony Halina Wagowska , 2012 selected work autobiography ; Two Rings : A Story of Love and War Millie Werber , Eve Keller , 2012 single work autobiography
I, Witness Maria Tumarkin , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 - 24 June 2012; (p. 18-19)

— Review of The Testimony Halina Wagowska , 2012 selected work autobiography
Well Read Julian Swallow , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 21 April 2012; (p. 20)

— Review of Two Rings : A Story of Love and War Millie Werber , Eve Keller , 2012 single work autobiography ; The Testimony Halina Wagowska , 2012 selected work autobiography
Last amended 30 Apr 2012 14:28:19
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