****

Dear Goodreads Readers—hi,

This is a letter I never anticipated writing. For many reasons, this book was largely a private undertaking, and as the years passed, I didn’t imagine that it would ever venture from my side. So the fact that you may find Mischling worthy of a glance or opinion is something that I’m not sure will ever stop astounding me. While in this awe, I can think only of the many names I’ve become attached to.

Here are just five that mean a lot to me: Eva Mozes Kor, Miriam Mozes Zeiger, Alex Dekel, Zvi Spiegel, and Gisella Perl.

The terrible thing about discussing a book like this is that there are so many other names that will inevitably go unsaid. In saying one name, I think of another, and of the story that is attached. I can't help but want the mention of these names and stories to never end; I believe that if this book manages to live in the mind of any reader, it does so only in the memory of the twins, their caretakers, and the heroes of the Jewish resistance.

All my thanks,

Affinity