My Orchard

By Harrison Baker

A true story that dates back to the aftermath of the Holocaust. A small child born in Cheklosvakia who witnessed the atrocities of war and went on to build a life despite the prejudices of culture and beliefs. A child born an atheist who came to believe in something greater than what she could see. This is a story of perseverance and of hope. A story of her rebirth in America and how her past help to define her future.
A story of strength and determination. A truly inspiring story for people of all cultures and beliefs. Step into the world of a woman who defied all odds. You won't be disappointed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493195381

Book preview

MY ORCHARD

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Harrison Baker

Copyright © 2014 by Harrison Baker.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4931-9537-4

                eBook           978-1-4931-9538-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 06/18/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

612576

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Epilog

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the survivors. Survivors of the wars and the turmoil that we as survivios of war go through and all the flack of war that the families endur because of it.

This book is dedicated to the survivors who have endured the tragedies and pain of life and continue to move on despite the memories and the ghosts of the past. I salute you and I encourage you to move forward and to hold on to something greater. I today choose to call that something greater, God but before that that God presented Himself to me as MY ORCHARD.

Chrsitine Trux

CHAPTER ONE

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The name chosen for me at birth was Christine Elfride Trux and as early as I can remember I can only relate to what mother called feelings. Feelings like cold and wet and being warm and dry, was when things were good. I learned to believe that good meant food, shelter and warmth. For us at that time most things other than those were irrelevant. And as soon as I could walk my sanctuary became the orchard.

Mother, father, my older sister Maria my brother Franz and I lived a simple and comfortable life as I knew it. Our small settlement consisted of about twenty cottages which were divided by a small life giving stream. At the end of a narrow road stood a small building that at the time I thought was the first step to knowledge, and there is where we went to learn how to read and write. Kindergarten was a place that I was fond of going. It gave me a repreive from chores and a chance to mingle with the eight or nine other children from my settlement.

The first day that began the rest of my life was a cool crisp day that despite the chill, hugged me like a thick warm sweater, as I walked through the forest. I had learned when and where there were good things to eat, to gather and to share with my family. I also found out where there were good and sweet things to hoard and keep for my personal pleasure. Oh what a wonderful place to be. Silence and motion playing in harmony with one another. The faint and distant sound of dogs yelping, the tangy scent of pine trees, and the mouth watering fragrance of fruit trees.

I recall one day a small fox darted out in my path and startled me. It seems that it and I had the same idea in mind. We quickly examined one another and then dashed for cover. I felt the thrill of being alive and that life was good. I gathered up an apron full of pine cones with no clue at that time what I would do with them, but I considered them as another kind of treasure. Then on second thought I decided that perhaps I could use them for the fire which would help to keep us warm. My whole world

Reviews for My Orchard

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Why didn't I love this beautiful book? And why are almost all of the reviews by teachers or wannabe teachers? And what would children think of it? I don't know... I'd like some of my GR friends who read picture-books to read & review this....

[lmalak1-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

 I didn't really like this book. I didn't quite understand what the point of the book was. One specific reason why I didn't like the book was because there was no real character development. I felt like the main girl in the story was simply retelling her childhood, but there is no connection to the reader as to why this retelling is important.Another reason I disliked this book was because I just couldn't pick out the main idea. The book is about a girl and her mother dancing, but that seemed to be as deep as it went. Overall, not my favorite book by a long shot.

[edefra1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart was a very enlightening book. It tells the story of a girl and her mother and how the mother served as her role model. The main message in this book is tradition and remembrance. The reasons why I liked this book was the pictures and the plot. The pictures were very dark and the illustrator did a great job mixing the colors and creating a texture. For example, the dresses looked like they were flowing in the wind. I also liked the plot because their dancing was a way to celebrate each season. Also their dance was a bond between mother and daughter and that bond was so special to each of them. Overall I liked this book but it was not one of my favorites.

[awiltenburg_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the adventuresome trip with these ladies through life's simple and special bonding times. I loved the vivid verbs and word play int he text as well as the illustrations.

[bookgals · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book would be good for 1st and 2nd graders. In this book, a mother and daughter embrace each season through the power of dance. The time they spend together is truely rewarding in the end is an inspiration to the young ballerina while she is dancing on stage. The words through the book are fun and rhythmic and the vibrant watercolor illustraions convey a sense of calming and bring the whole story to life.