Last December, I rejoined a gym in my neighborhood. Access to equipment is great, especially in cold, grey Vermont weather. However, by far the very best part of my gym experience has been the sauna in the women’s locker room.

I’ve met ER nurses, a reproductive lawyer, a writer, a cowgirl, teachers, students, a non-profit director, a doctor, a boutique owner (who got me water recently when I stayed in too long and nearly fainted), and so many other remarkable women.

One woman and I began talking and soon realized that we were both artists and the same woman made our wedding dresses.

In a time when so much of what we are exposed to is deepfakes, or AI-generated—sitting in the dark, wrapped only in a towel, sweating, and talking to other women has been a welcomed respite from the world.

One day a few months ago two older women were talking in the sauna. I was listening at first—although I’m always ready to jump in with a question when I’m curious about something…unspoken sauna rules.

They were telling their stories about Europe during WWII. One of the women described how her Jewish family fled Germany to Switzerland on one of the last trains possible. I stayed in too long that day too.

The other woman, Tereska told the story of her parents who were newlyweds living in Warsaw, Poland when Germany invaded. I wanted to know so much more. Then she told me she wrote a book about her parent’s experience.

I went home, downloaded the audio version, and started listening to The General’s Barber and the Seamstress, A Polish Love Story by Tereska Buko.

When Hitler invades Poland in 1939, newlyweds Józef and Marysia Buko are catapulted into a sudden and heart-wrenching seven-year separation. Józef honors the soldier’s code and is forced to fight battles in many foreign lands. Marysia remains in Warsaw to join in the underground resistance against Poland’s Nazi occupiers. Each faces life-threatening situations demanding courage, faith, and resilience if the couple is ever to see each other again.  

GOODREADS—https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37881872

For the last few years, I’ve read a lot about WWII. My prior knowledge was embarrassingly lacking. Having met Tereska, and then reading about Józef and Marysia’s horror, grit, and heart made The General’s Barber and the Seamstress very alive to me.

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Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.

―George Santayana/author/teacher The Life of Reason: Five Volumes in One

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PS I had not seen Tereska since she told me about her book in February. I kept hoping I would run into her. Last Friday I finished listening to the book and went to the gym. Our paths finally crossed again in the sauna and I learned that her cousin was the voice on the audiobook which personalized the story even more.

Thank you Tereska.