When the Diamonds Were Gone

The true story of one child's journey from World War II-ravaged Europe to America—and the challenges he faced in making the nation his home.

After a grueling and dramatic escape from occupied Poland in 1939, at age eight, Julian Padowicz and his mother arrive in America in 1941 with big plans.

Julian's beautiful, former socialite mother Barbara wants to write a memoir and regain her former social position. Julian just wants to fit his war-damaged psyche into the American way of life. As Barbara climbs her social ladder, she succeeds in opening for herself doors that few manage to open. In the process, she slams in Julian's face the very doors that other parents struggle to open for their children.

A memoir of identity and self-discovery while coping with trauma, "When the Diamonds Were Gone is a piece of literary magic" (Douglas G. Hearle, author of Outsource) from Julian Padowicz, the award-winning author of Mother and Me.

"Written with warm wit, this coming-of-age memoir reflects America in the 1940s and the experience of an immigrant youth trying his best to belong. His engaging, candid, often humorous story is of historical and cultural importance—and is just plain fun to read." —Award-winning author Linda Collison