Blog

Szczęśliwego nowego roku! (Happy New Year in Polish!) I hope you are doing well.  Tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 9) at 3:00 pm PST, the Louisiana State University Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures is sponsoring my free virtual book talk about my grandfather...

Dear readers and friends, Wow, a lot has changed in the world since I last checked in. Our daughter just returned safely from Semester at Sea, taking college classes on a ship while traveling the world. I hope you all are staying healthy and safe. Later today I will...

Greetings, readers & friends!  I have some exciting news to share. My book, How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival, earned First Place in two categories of the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards: Historical Nonfiction and Biography/Memoir/Autobiography....

In addition to honoring our U.S. veterans today, Poland is celebrating becoming independent on November 11, 1918, after being partitioned by Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Another celebration today is Poland’s new status as a member of the U.S.’s Visa Waiver Program....

Happy Polish Heritage Month!  In 1986 President Ronald Reagan declared that October is the month to celebrate Polish heritage in the United States. Ever since the first Polish settlers arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in October 1608, Polish Americans have been an...

Today marks 80 years since Nazi Germany bombed Poland, starting World War II. On this day, September 1, 1939, my grandfather had just arrived at his university, eager to begin his second year of college. His life would never be the same. I can’t help but think of how...

When people find out about my book, the question I get asked the most is, “How did you go about putting the book together?” I grew up hearing countless people tell my grandfather that his life story must be recorded. I remember noticing him tell his story at social...

Thanks to the nearly 500 people who voted for which book cover you liked best. As you can see, the results were close, but the winning cover is a photo of my grandfather on a Swedish ship. From what people have told me, those that knew my grandfather personally tended...