My Song

Born in Poland in March 1944, Jolanta Soysal spent the next four decades under the harsh oppression of the Soviet Union. Despite overwhelming hardships, she received an education, became a wife and mother, and by the late 1980s, as the owner of a large chicken farm for ten years, became a highly successful businessperson. Earlier in 1981 and without warning, martial law was initiated throughout Poland, and by 1987 conditions had worsened. Fearful of another invasion and complete takeover by the Soviet Union, Jolanta traveled to the United States, determined to establish roots so that she could soon bring her family to America. Arriving in New York on a 90-day travel visa, she had only 40 dollars, spoke only a handful of English words, and had no job. Over the next ten years she became a licensed cosmetologist and real estate agent, the personal assistant to one of the wealthiest business tycoons in America, and in 1993 a United States citizen. "My Song" is the story of a mother’s courageous sacrifice and determination, her heartwarming memoirs, and a reliving of the bygone years of the Cold War era.