A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile is a memoir written by Agate Nesaule.

The first half of the memoir describes Nesaule’s experiences as a refugee when the Soviet army invaded Latvia; of the terrors of war and life in the displaced persons' camps in Germany; and her family's emigration to the United States in 1950.

The memoir also explores the experience of immigration as seen from Nesaule’s point of view: that of a teenage girl in the 1950s.

By the end of the memoir, Nesaule is able to heal from the harmful experiences of war and exile, which affected her life at such a young age.

Despite her outward professional success, Agate lives with an inner turmoil caused by her memories of war and perpetuated by her husband, Joe.

On the advice of her therapist Ingeborg, Agate learns she cannot begin to heal until she is able to tell her story: what happened to her and her family during World War II in Latvia and Germany at the hands of the invading Russian soldiers.

Agate’s mother, Valda, is understandably terrified by the Russian occupation and the horrors that occur in the basement.

A quick learner, Agate teaches herself English in one summer by translating Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind.

During the next twenty years, Agate receives her doctorate degree, has a son named Boris, and becomes a successful professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Constantly living with Joe’s put downs, harassments, and minimization of the trauma she endured in the war, Agate hides her feelings of depression and tries to carry on with her life.

Because of his respectful and receptive listening, Agate tells John her story and finally finds acceptance.

Agate’s mother, a skilled teacher in Latvia, had to work long hours as a dishwasher to support her family.

Once in Latvia, Valda and her young family are forced into exile again; they bury their most prized possessions in the dirt.

In the camps, Latvians organize schools to continue teaching the children in spite of the current situation.

Comparing Trauma – In Woman In Amber, Nesaule references Jerzy Kosinski’s book The Painted Bird, in several places.

The concept of comparing trauma is also present in a Latvian community program in which the question of who suffers more in war is discussed.

From the books, movies, and people with whom she surrounds herself, she begins to learn the societal norms and expectations of her new culture.

Tendency of the stronger members of society to prey on the weak- A Woman in Amber is full of instances describing characters in vulnerable positions at the mercy of those in power.

As a child in Latvia, she endured the terror and dislocation of World War II at the hands of both Soviets and Germans, lived in a postwar refugee camp, and became an immigrant to the American Midwest, establishing a life there shaped by survivor's guilt and a sense of victimization.

Integral to her life are family relationships, especially estrangement from her mother, stemming from the war years and the author's own unhappy marriage.

In middle age, Nesaule at last comes to terms with her past, builds a new life, and offers her audience a well-written and insightful memoir.

For subject collections and general readers., Rena Fowler, Humboldt State Univ., Arcata, Cal.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Latvians Online [1] This paragraph was taken from an article written by Diana Kiesners: "Above all, no one must know what happened to the women in the basement at Lobethal.