Author Spotlight: Joel Lohr remarks on the years leading up to the release of Mitka's Secret

My name is Joel Lohr. It’s hard to believe that six years have passed since I first heard about Mitka’s story. It was July 1, 2015, when Robert “Bob” Lucchesi, my next-door neighbor, shared a few details about this amazing man, us both standing outside on my driveway on a warm California evening. The sun had just set and the concrete was still hot under our bare feet. I remember being mesmerized and unable to sleep that night.

What a story. What a man. What a long, harrowing, and unique journey. I had never heard anything like it before. An orphaned, Jewish child made to be a slave to a Nazi officer. A man who tried to bury his past, only to have it all come out 30 years later, his wife of 28 years in shock. And, a man who came to embrace his Jewish heritage as well as learn how to love deeply, and forgive.

It was not long thereafter that I got to meet Mitka and Adrienne, first by telephone. They were everything Bob said they were. Inspiring. Loving. Witty and funny. Full of life and joy. Being with them brought a certain calm, and perspective. I felt like I was becoming a better person being around them. And I knew their story needed to be told.

It’s hard to believe that the day has finally arrived for the book to be published. July 20 is not far away. Our advance author copies arrived this week. Holding the book in my hands feels like such a long time coming, but the truth is it probably feels that way multiplied by 100 for Mitka and Adrienne. And Bob.

I’m honored and humbled to be part of this project, and to have worked not only with two of the best people I know on this earth, Mitka and Adrienne Kalinski, but also Bob, my co-authors Steve and Lynn, the team at Eerdmans Publishing, and the larger Kalinski family. Joy like this has no price tag.