‘Mama, it’s me.’ I held her hand in mine, hoping it would give her the strength to hold on.
Finally, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
‘Do not cry when I die.’
‘Quite simply the most important book you will read this year’ Hazel Gaynor
‘An extraordinary read’ Lorraine Kelly
‘Deeply moving’ The Daily Mail
From invasion to liberation, September 1939 to April 1945, as Renee was marched from ghetto to camp, there was one constant. One hand that clutched hers – her mother’s. Every day for nearly six years, mother and daughter were bound together in hell. From Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen, they were a powerful source of solace and hope for one another.
The strength of Sala’s love gave them both something fragile yet beautiful to cling to in an ugly, depraved world. It was her mother who hid Renee, lied to the SS, went right when she was directed left – whose small actions had life-saving consequences. Now, for Renee, the need to share has finally overcome the desire to forget.
A Mother’s Promise is a love letter to a mother eighty years in the making.
*****
‘Will stay with me for a long time… A beautiful account, so movingly told’ Anna Stuart
‘Powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read’ Elizabeth Bellak
‘This is a story the world needs to know’ Madeline Martin
‘This book travels to the very heart of existence’ Joshua Levine
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Reviews
This is a most extraordinary memoir, distinctive for its detailed recollection and its fearlessness in recording the truth of what happened.
A powerful testament to a mother's love during unbelievable hardship... Renee's story of resilience and survival is powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read.
A powerful account of a young girl's incredible resilience in the face of the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust, Renee Salt's memoir is needed now more than ever. A riveting read.
Renee Salt and Kate Thompson come together in powerful unity in a way that is both deeply moving and unforgettable. This is a story the world needs to know.
Extraordinary and deeply impressive. Books are often described as 'important'. Others so-described should step aside. This book travels to the very heart of existence.
Quite simply the most important book you will read this year. It will stay with me for a very long time.
An unforgettable story about the power of love, a story that reminds us how important hope is, a story that proves to us that human beings are remarkable and endlessly inspiring.
A moving portrayal of one young woman's heroic life story... Renee's journey is one of hope through the ashes of the past.
This is a book that will stay with me for a long time... A beautiful account, so movingly told.
A privilege to read... a deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched. A fascinating, heart-breaking story.