In 1930, Josef Stalin had created the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (district) in the former Soviet Far East between the USSR and Manchuria.

If only she could make it to Birobidzhan. Hurriedly, she purchased a train ticket to leave Moscow, failing to acquire resettlement authorization.

'Mama rarely wanted Lena to know anything.never inquired how she was feeling or what she was thinking.Mama didn't care enough to bother.' 'Mom had promised.Lena never knew until now.' Going through Dad's dental office records after his death, Lena unearthed three files of letters, newspaper clippings and 'the fates of Soviet WWII veterans in general, one veteran in particular.' For 4o years, Lena's father had been trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Aaron Kramer.'Įighteen year old Regina 'trusted the wrong people listened to the wrong voices.she needed to sneak out like a thief' to avoid becoming a victim of Stalin's Purge. Readers can expect a whirlwind journey as Regina finds herself and her courage within one of the century's most tumultuous eras. My Mother's Secret is rooted in detailed research about a little known chapter of Soviet and Jewish history while exploring universal themes of identity, love, loss, war, and parenthood. New York Times Bestselling author Alina Adams draws on her own experiences as a Jewish refugee from Odessa, USSR as she provides readers a rare glimpse into the world's first Jewish Autonomous Region. Once there, Regina has to grapple with her preconceived notions of socialism and Judaism while asking herself the eternal question: What do we owe each other? How can we best help one another? While she contends with these queries and struggles to help Birobidzhan establish itself, love and war are on the horizon. Under cover of the night, she flees from her parents' communal apartment in 1930s Moscow to the 20th century's first Jewish state, Birobidzhan, on the border between Russia and China. With his dying breath, Lena's father asks his family a cryptic question: 'You couldn't tell, could you?' After his passing, Lena stumbles upon the answer that changes her life forever.Īs her revolutionary neighbor mysteriously disappears during Josef Stalin's Great Terror purges, 18-year-old Regina suspects that she's the Kremlin's next target.

The nesting dolls alina adams