Includes index.

Maps on lining papers.

Foreword -- Luxembourg -- Belgium -- In France -- Vendouvres -- Les Besses -- Lyon -- The last summer -- Liberation and change -- To Paris and beyond -- English interlude -- Le Raincy and Livry-Gargan -- Vacation in Poland -- Farewell to France -- Challenges and friendships -- China beckons -- Afterword -- Poems.

"In the 1930s, Ren Ǧoldman grows up entranced with theatre, music, languages and geography. Enveloped by his parents' love and protection, he wanders the streets and alleys of Luxembourg and Brussels, carefree and prone to mischief. Yet as he starts hearing adults speak the words "deportation" and "resettlement, " Ren ǐs forced to grapple with a strange, new reality. In 1942, when his family flees to France, eight-year-old Ren ǐs separated from his parents and shunted between children's homes and convents, where he must hide both his identity and his mounting anxiety. As Ren w̌aits and waits for his parents to return, even liberation day does not feel like freedom. An eloquent personal narrative detailed with historical research and intuitive observations, A Childhood Adrift explores identity, closure, disillusionment and the anguish of silenced emotions."-- Provided by publisher.