Maie Currie
Maie Currie always threatened to write a book ever since I first met her while working together at the Estonian Archives in Lakewood, New Jersey. She has now done just that. As the saying goes, inside every person there is a book. Very few take the time to actually spell it out and then go through the agony of getting it published.
I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of ´´Shattered Lives – A story of a young Estonian girl and her family during the Second World War.´´ Since the book is written in English, my review will be also. Let’ s face it – the Estonian diaspora in the U.S. is increasingly communicating in this global language, especially the children and grandchildren of the original DPs. It would serve these generations especially well to read Maie’s memoirs. Her first-hand account of those tragic events is presented in a matter-of-fact way, without soppy pathos or exuberant jubilation, thus rendering the story relatable and reliabale in accuracy. As already Thomas Jefferson noted way back when: “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”
Maie’s book does not mince words, however, and had me laughing out loud (or LOLzing as the young moderns would have it) when describing the primitive conditions of a Soviet era public bathroom at a train station:
“There were no seats; there was a platform on which to stand and a hole in the center… my underpants did not stretch that far. . .” Or just as effectively have tears pour down my cheeks when describing the very relatable agony of saying goodbye to loved ones when leaving from visiting them in Estonia.
The one thing that caught me off guard most personally was the Dedication, a punch right into the solar plexus on page one where she talks about her mother: ” Now I realize she did the best she could under the circumstances. I am more aware of how those pitfalls happened and why. That is not to say I could have done anything about it, but at least I now understand. Because of that, I appreciate and love her even more. Without her love, I would not be the person I am today.”
Those of us fortunate enough to be parents, realize that children do not come with instructions. We are all just winging it as best as we can. Imagine then being a parent in a war-torn Estonia, having to make gut-wrenching decisions to ensure the safest future for your child! Taking risks, trusting God, and just plain luck mark Maie´s and her mother’ s escape from the advancing Red Army. Without giving away too many details, what makes her story remarkable and so different from many other war refugee accounts, is the fact that part of her family remained in Estonia, thus offering the reader a glimpse of two diffferent worlds. The escape to the West is juxtaposed with the grim reality of everyday life in Soviet Estonia.
Maie proclaims that the main aim of writing this book was to leave a written account of her memoris to her children and grandchildren. I urge all of you of Estonian origin to read this book and to recommend it to all your American friends. We all know that the victorious write the history. In the era of political over-correctness and trigger-topics, it does well for all of us to read any first-hand accounts of WW2 and the human tragedies and triumphs of all sides.
´´Shattered Lives´´ will be available via VES bookstore. For a signed copy with a personal dedication and to meet the author in person, please join us in Lakewood Estonian House at Tuluõhtu on Saturday, November 5th.
Ave Maria Blithe
