Ordinary Woman, Extraordinary Life

In the years following World War II, Irma Pallas and her family struggled to make their lives in bombed out towns of Poland. Born in 1941 in what had been Germany, Irma and her family were “stateless” after the war, neither German nor Polish. In 1955, the family escaped from behind the Iron Curtain and made it to West Germany. Through it all Irma grew and dealt with life as many of us know it: bad decisions, illness, partners who were jerks and internal family rivalries. Her story is filled with travel, adventure, spies and humor—one of her male companions used Super Glue to keep his teeth in place. Irma persevered, came to the U.S. and eventually found happiness and love, but only after another bad marriage. Ordinary Woman is the story of never quitting and finding joy in those “ordinary” things in life: talking with friends, finding lost relatives, caring for pets, traveling and spending time with loved ones.