Jessica Senn's Reviews > The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos

I'm struggling on what to say about this book. This was a magnificent book that was very well researched. It told a story that NEEDS to be told that has been overlooked by historians or simply not shared by those who lived it. (Whether from PTSD, survivors guilt, caving to politics, or the misguided perception of "other people had it so much worse than I did, my story doesn't matter.") But it was also a hard and at times painful read. I could barely read two or three chapters a day without having to put it aside and collect myself. Batalion does not shy away from the horrors that these women experienced and witnessed. "Tell our story" is the phrase that pops up so many times throughout any history or biography of the Holocaust and this story of women who fought back is one that was almost lost to history. I'm so glad the author undertook what was definitely NOT an easy task to bring this story back into the light.

Because there seems to be confusion in the reviews, I will state CLEARLY this is not a historical fiction book. This is a historical book, thus it will read "like a history textbook." (like that's a bad thing?) But it is an important read all the same. (generally if the book has photographs, it's probably a historical book y'all and won't read like your every day novel)
Also, you should go into this book prepared to read some rather horrific things. These aren't glossed over or romanticized accounts. These are true atrocities that happened to real people. The accounts will haunt you, and they should. The kind of evil and hatred that enable these kinds of acts is unimaginable, but we should also keep in mind that very few people start off that way. It starts small and snowballs. Accounts like these should make us take a deep look inside ourselves for the small things that could snowball. We all have the potential for love and hate. Choose love.