Lidia : The Life of Lidia Zamenhof, Daughter of Esperanto

'Difficulties are our tests. They show us the strength and weakness of our spirit, the intensity and ardor of our search, and they temper us and make us stronger and stouter.' Lidia Zamenhof

Lidia had seen the effects of brutal pogroms, of war and its aftermath of racial, religious and national strife. For six years from 1932 she travelled through Europe and the United States, teaching Esperanto and speaking out against the rising tide of nationalism and war fever. When tragic circumstances took her back to Poland on the eve of World War II, she would be forced to confront the ultimate test in the Warsaw Ghetto under the Nazi occupation.

Florence Mayberry writes:

'The dramatic story of Lidia Zamenhof, daughter of Ludwik Zamenhof, the linguistic genius who originated Esperanto, is sensitively and clearly set forth in this biography. It combines a fascinating presentation of Esperanto's development, proclaimed as an instrument to attain world unity, with equally fascinating vistas of Bahá'í history.

Most dramatically it reveals the strange paradoxes in this Polish Jewish girl's life. Once refusing to even speak Esperanto, she became its champion. Once professing near-atheism, she became the 'spiritual child' of Bahá'í heroine Martha Root and arose to valiant, spiritually illumined championship of her beloved Bahá'í Faith.

Wisdom, courage, struggle, achievement, and a final brush of tragedy impel the reader through this excellent portrayal.'