My Remarkable Journey

This intriguing memoir is a true account of Mary Samson whose unique personal journey is chronicled on these pages. Her fascinating travel and life experiences reveal to the reader a woman for whom life was both joyous and traumatic. Mary was born in Harbin, Manchuria, of Russian Jewish parents who had fled Russia because of the communist revolution., antisemitism and a debilitating economy. Her family moved to Shanghai, China where she lived in a multi-cultural society for the next fifteen years including experiencing the cruel occupation of the Japanese military. She went to a French school and completed her education at a British high school and later graduating from a business college. Like all Russians in China she was stateless. In 1948 Mary married and almost immediately left China to escape the advancing Chinese Communists. They arrived in Israel after a traumatic two month ship voyage to start a new life. Her two sons were born during difficult times, in a newly independent country which was left destitute economically and militarily by the British mandate authorities. After seven years, Mary and her family immigrated to Australia. The memoir with over 100 pictures accompanying the text tells of the next 50 years including birth of her two daughters and a tragic death. She also describes extensive travels over a twenty year period involving living in Europe and the USA. Mary worked in Shanghai, Isreal, Australia and the USA where she applied her office knowledge in English, French and Russian. After 20 years of living and leading an active life in Los Angeles, she settled back in Sydney with her husband and was convinced by friends to write a memoir.