Book Spotlight: Her Strength Within

Do you ever think about the things your ancestors went through and wonder how they had the strength to get through it? Or wonder if you would have the strength in a similar situation? Guest author, Becky Van Vleet joins us today to tell us about such real-life inspiration behind her story, Her Strength Within.

When I was quite young, I’d sit cross-legged on our living room floor while Grandma Alzbeta wove tales of her journey from Poland to Czechoslovakia to America. Her words came wrapped in an accent I barely noticed at the time. It wasn’t until high school, in my American history class, that I connected the dots. I had a significant piece of history right in my family, sitting at our kitchen table, while our family enjoyed my grandmother’s authentic dishes from the old country. I dropped my timidity and spoke up in class about my Slavic grandmother, sharing bits and pieces of her personal story to emigrate to our country by way of Ellis Island.

It was in this class I discovered the brutal reality faced by immigrants who had gambled everything on America’s promises. Most traveled in steerage passage on vessels across the Atlantic Ocean enduring filth, disease, and inhumane practices. I asked my grandmother about this. Yes, she confirmed the treacherous journey, adding she was pushed down the gangplank and slammed against hundreds of steerage passengers like cattle. A mandatory tag with the number 215, marking her as cargo in a human shipment, was pinned to her chest.

Like so many others, she gave up her country, customs, family, and friends for a better life in America. A life of opportunity. After all, she’d heard America had streets paved with gold.

The hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to America in the latter part of the 19^th century and the first half of the 20^th century played a significant role in shaping the United States into the country it is today, building a bold new America. Between 1892 and 1954, more than twelve million immigrants arrived in the United States through Ellis Island.

Each immigrant had their own unique story. Some came to escape intolerable poverty and starvation with very little productive farmland or steady jobs. Others sought freedom of religion and speech from oppressive governments. Some fled to escape massacres called pogroms in Russia in which minority groups were targeted. But what they all had in common was their desire to seek a new life in a strange but promising land. Their fortitude and determination to succeed triumphed.

My grandmother’s stories of coming to America took up a restful residence in my mind as a young girl. More than fifty years later, they awakened, prompting me to share them with others in my novel, Her Strength Within. My grandmother Alzbeta was a trailblazer, traveling alone in steerage on the SS La Touraine ship at the age of nineteen. She had no idea she was participating in our country’s history. Her inner strength prevailed against extraordinary obstacles.

Today, I still prepare stuffed cabbage rolls, borscht soup, and pierogis, using my dear grandmother’s original recipes. For a moment, I can hear her laugh, followed by aye yi yi yi yi! Her spirit lives on through my family.

Her Strength Within

The lush, green hills of Poland and Czechoslovakia are all that Alzbeta Holeva has ever known. Yet, as a nineteen-year-old peasant girl in 1921, her life is on the brink of a drastic upheaval. Papa plans to send her to America for a better life. The very thought of severing ties with her family, abandoning her homeland, and facing the frightening unfamiliarity of a new country fills her with an overwhelming dread.

Although her aunt and uncle are willing to sponsor her and have already braved the journey successfully, the thought of venturing alone to a distant land makes her stomach roil. Still, with the haunting memories of German military planes menacing the skies of her childhood and her brothers later embroiled in the horrors of the Great War, she must summon every shred of courage to embrace Papa’s plan. She would pave the way for the rest of her family to follow.

At last, Alzbeta steps onto the SS La Touraine, the mighty vessel that will carry her across the perilous Atlantic waves to an uncertain future. The grueling trials awaiting her in steerage passage will forever change the course of her life and shape her path toward America.

Inspired by a true story.

Becky Van Vleet is a retired teacher and principal turned award-winning multi-genre author. Her books are the recipients of BookFest, Purple Dragonfly, Excellence in Editing, Christlit, and Angel Book awards. A contributing writer to Guideposts, The Country Register, and other publications, Becky brings both heart and history to her work. When she isn’t writing, Becky enjoys speaking to school groups and community centers about the Greatest Generation’s values, reminding audiences that stories—especially family stories—are one of the greatest gifts we can share. Through her website and monthly blog, she dedicates herself to helping families preserve their memories and celebrate the ties that bind past to present, one story at a time. You can reach her at: www.beckyvanvleet.com.