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Mother and Me:
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About the Book“Julian Padowicz paints a vivid picture of [his] childhood in this fictionalized memoir set in pre-WWII Poland.”—Jewish Book News Julian’s mother was a spoiled beauty, a Warsaw socialite who had no talent for child-rearing and no interest in it. She turned her son over completely to his governess, a good Catholic, whom he called Kiki, and whom he loved with all his heart. Kiki was deeply worried about Julian’s immortal soul, explaining that he could go to Heaven only if he became a Catholic. When bombs began to fall on Warsaw, Julian’s world crumbled. His beloved Kiki returned to her family in Lodz; Julian’s stepfather joined the Polish army and the grief-stricken boy was left with the mother whom he hardly knew. Resourceful and determined, his mother did whatever was necessary to provide for herself and her son: she brazenly cut into food lines and befriended Russian officers to get extra rations of food and fuel. But brought up by Kiki to distrust all things Jewish, Julian considered his mother’s behavior un-Christian. In the winter of 1940, as conditions worsened, Julian and his mother made a dramatic escape to Hungary on foot through the Carpathian mountains and Julian came to believe that even Jews could go to Heaven. About the AuthorJulian Padowicz holds a degree in English Literature from Colgate University. He has been a documentary filmmaker and producer of audio tapes for most of his adult life, and has won a Golden Eagle Award for his educational film, “The People Shop,” from the Committee on International Non-Theatrical Events. He lives in Stamford, Connecticut, with his wife, and is working on a sequel to Mother and Me. |
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