Struggle and Chaos in Three Countries

It was the winter of 1982 when Elisabeth Hedwig departed Frankfurt International Airport and began a harrowing, white-knuckle flight to New York City where a snowstorm and the unknown awaited. Two weeks before a cruel trick of destiny placed her on that plane, Elisabeth had no plans to travel to America. She was over seven months pregnant.

In a fascinating memoir, Hedwig chronicles her journey to return home to confront her struggles and memories decades after immigrating to the United States. Born the third of five children living amid challenging circumstances in Walzen, Poland. Hedwig details her family’s experiences after they moved to Hanau, West Germany, in an attempt to create a new chapter, her determination to escape her alcoholic father’s violent tirades, and her eventual immigration to a country far away from all she knew to start again. Throughout her story, Hedwig reminds all of us that it is possible to rise above our struggles and attain a better life.

Struggle and Chaos in Three Countries is the true story of a woman’s trials and tribulations as she traveled through several countries to become a mother and naturalized US citizen determined to live the American dream.