In 1939 Reizelo Wulc was a naive young girl living in Sosnowiec, in Zaglembie, Poland. Like most of her contemporaries, she had hopes and dreams and trust in the future, surrounded as she was by a loving family and solid community. But with the onset of war that innocence was shattered and Reizelo's life was thrown into turmoil.

Blessing and Curses: A Life Remembered is the poignant and often moving story of Reizelo's experiences during the dark years of the Shoah, tracing her journey from Poland to Israel and eventually Australia. Along the way she acquired friends, enemies and a new name: Shoshana Loven.

Told with candour and a sharp eye for detail, Shoshana's memoir is a testament to the defiant spirit of a young girl brutally forced to grow up and confront life's hardships and tragedies, and yet become someone who still managed to bring warmth and love to the world.