The Girl They Left Behind

DEBUT Romanian-born first novelist Veletzos paints a portrait of intergenerational trauma that begins on a cold night in January 1941. During the horrors of the Romanian pogrom, in which mass murders of Jews occurred regularly, a couple is forced to leave their only daughter at the entrance of a Bucharest apartment building. That moment changes the trajectory of their lives for years to come. Managing to escape imminent death, the couple eventually flee Romania for asylum while their daughter is adopted by a loving, wealthy couple who name her Natalia. Natalia's childhood is short-lived, as she soon becomes trapped in a country ravaged by war. Years later, after transitioning from a life of carefree luxury to a bleak existence behind the Iron Curtain, she discovers the true meaning of love, sacrifice, and hope that can rise from the ashes of despair.