Cilka's Journey: The sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz

From the author of the multi-million copy bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz comes a new novel based on a riveting true story of love and resilience.

Her beauty saved her — and condemned her.

Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival.

When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was send to Auschwitz when she was still a child?

In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she meets a kind female doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing and begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.

Confronting death and terror daily, Cilka discovers a strength she never knew she had. And when she begins to tentatively form bonds and relationships in this harsh, new reality, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.

From child to woman, from woman to healer, Cilka's journey illuminates the resilience of the human spirit—and the will we have to survive.

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Published Sep 8, 2020

400 pages

Average rating: 8.63

213 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Cilka's Journey* is a gripping, emotional sequel to *The Tattooist of Auschwitz*, offering a rare glimpse into Soviet gulags with powerfu...

Brittany Bennett
Mar 02, 2026
10/10 stars
I don’t have the words to accurately describe how I felt about this book but it was incredibly we written and so so good!
StephGold
Jan 06, 2026
10/10 stars
This is such a wonderful story. Engaging and heartfelt, It handles very difficult and upsetting content and a very humanizing way.
Islandgirl649
Dec 11, 2025
10/10 stars
This is a heavy read; I loved the book and its insight into the history. As it relates to Cilka she was brave indeed.
Julie MK
Oct 03, 2025
10/10 stars
Second book I’ve read by Heather Morris. Equalling as inspired by human strength in times of hardship. I have yet again learnt more about the harshness of war - though sad, hard to read and disturbing, this is history, and I will forever hope Humans will eventually learn that such harsh times and hatred are not acceptable . A brilliant read.
NinjaNeo
Sep 27, 2025
10/10 stars
This is a historical fiction loosely based off a real individual assumed to be Cilka. It starts with her brief freedom from Auschwitz, only to immediately be thrown into a soviet prison camp and sentenced to live there for 15 years. This story is put together from various accounts of what life was like in the soviet prison camps. It's shocking and hard to imagine individuals having already suffered years at german concentration camps, only to be thrown into sometimes worse conditions with the soviets. Seeing this book as a collection of historical stories, facts, and both real and fictional characters, I highly recommend this read!

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