Suffering may find us, and history may tear us apart, but the human spirit is strong enough to heal. Kateřina Tučková breathes life into a tragic historic event and proves we have within us the hope and resilience to rise above our circumstances.
When Gerta’s parents married across ethnicities, they had no way to predict that their family would later straddle enemy lines, or that their innocent daughter would go on to carry the weight of the war. Gerta is forced to leave her hometown on foot along with thousands of others in the march from Brno, Czech Republic, in the wake of World War II—one of many examples in history where the women, children, and elderly relatives are punished simply for having survived a war their husbands, fathers, and sons lost on the battlefield.
Gerta’s persistence, patience, and vision of a better world make her a powerful role model. We are not so easily divided, and we have the tools we need to reunite should the events of history create rifts. When I turned the final page, I saw hope for us yet: we can come together to reconcile with even the saddest moments in our shared past as we build a more beautiful future.
— Gabriella Page-Fort, Editor