My Seven Lives

<p><i>My Seven Lives</i> is the English translation of the best-selling memoir of Slovak journalist Agneša Kalinová (1924-2014): Holocaust survivor film critic translator and political prisoner. An oral history written with her colleague Jana Juráňová <i>My Seven Lives</i> provides a window into Jewish history the Holocaust and the cultural evolution of Central and Eastern Europe. The conversational approach gives the book a relatable immediacy that vividly conveys the tone and temperament of Agneša bringing out her lively personality and extraordinary ability to stay positive in the face of adversity.</p><p></p><p>Each chapter reflects a distinct period of Agneša's long and tumultuous life. Her idyllic childhood gives way to the rise of Nazism and restrictions of the anti-Jewish legislation which led to deportations and her escape to Hungary where she found refuge in a Budapest convent. Surviving the Holocaust she returned to Slovakia and married writer Ján Ladislav Kalina. They embraced communism and Agneša began her career as a journalist and film critic and became involved in the Prague Spring ending with the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Agneša and her husband lost their jobs and were imprisoned which led to their decision to immigrate to West Germany. She found a new career as a political commentator for Radio Free Europe and after decades of political oppression Agneša lived to see the euphoric days of the Velvet Revolution and its freeing aftermath.</p><p></p><p><i>My Seven Lives</i> shows the impact of an often brutal twentieth century on the life of one remarkable individual. It's a story of survival perseverance and ultimately triumph.</p>