Caught - Surviving the Turbulent River of Life by Uta Christensen

In Caught: Surviving the Turbulent River of Life, Janos, a successful executive for a large German conglomerate, reveals the untold experiences of his youth to Sparrow, a young woman he seems attracted to. She is allowed to relive his epic journey and becomes drawn into an unnerving yet moving tapestry of extraordinary events that take place in prisoner of war camps deep within Russia. Taken by force at age 16 from the protective circle of his family in Germany, Janos is tossed into the cataclysmic, last-gasp efforts of World War II. His several years-long journey takes him to a place of darkness, where he lives through a near-death experience and must survive physical and emotional starvation, hard labor and ostracism; yet it also carries him into unlikely places and relationships where friendship, compassion, healing, mentoring, and love can amazingly still flourish. As the story unfolds, Janos’ journey accelerates his passage from adolescence to manhood. Almost miraculously, he survives while vast numbers of his fellow prisoners of war perish.