Soviet Union, 1941. Bronya, a violin prodigy, dreams of the Moscow Conservatory. Her younger brother, Avsey, cherishes his secret box of treasures and longs to have friends. But when the Nazis invade and they are torn from their family, the children are forced on a perilous trek across a burning land — hunted, hungry and alone.

From Ukraine's wheat fields to the high peaks of the Caucasus, You, With Your Waiting follows two Jewish siblings struggling to survive in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Through music, memory, and resilience, the novel explores the fragile bonds of family and the moral choices forced by war.

Why this story matters today

The Holocaust in the Soviet Union — the mass murder of almost two million Jews by German Einsatzgruppen and their collaborators — remains one of the least-told chapters of WWII. Unlike the death camps of Poland, these killings happened in open fields, in ravines, on the outskirts of villages. Entire communities were erased, and then erased again by Soviet censorship that refused to acknowledge the particular suffering of Jews.

Today, as Holocaust denial rises and survivor voices grow fewer, the responsibility to remember grows greater. You, With Your Waiting is a work of fiction, but it is grounded in the testimonies of those who lived through displacement, loss, and rebuilding. It is a novel about the Holocaust in the Soviet Union told through the eyes of children — and a reminder that every statistic is a story.

Praise

"You, With Your Waiting is a powerful novel about two Jewish siblings separated during WWII in the Soviet Union. The story focuses on the emotional weight of survival...It lingers long after you finish." —-Amazon reader

"Meticulously researched and lyrically written, it is a portrait of loss, love, loyalty and the bravery it takes to choose to resist." — Amazon reader