The Lullaby of Polish Girls

by Dagmara Dominczyk

  To Babcia Krysia, who took care of me every summer—may you read this book over and over again as well.…

  Thank you to my mother, Aleksandra, who bravely left home to go start a new life, and to my father, Mirek, who keeps longing for his old one—you taught me sacrifice, you scrimped and saved to give me Polska every summer, and without that, there would be nothing.…

  To my sister Marika, who read some of these pages a decade ago and told me I was sitting on gold—I’ll never stop dreaming about us-down-the-block … and to my sister Veronika, who came home in a fruit basket when I was ten and changed my life.… No one will ever understand like we do, and the three of us will always be walking down Toporowskiego, forever young.…

  To my sweet, beautiful sons, Kalin and Kassian—Mama’s finally finished writing “that book.”

  And finally, thank you to my husband, Patrick, who said his vows in Polish, who never tells me no, even when he should, who always listens, who loves me beyond and despite, who lets me sneak off to the porch to scribble just a little while longer … you saved me and there are no words to show my love & gratitude, but here’s a few thousand anyway.

  About the Author

  Dagmara Dominczyk was born in Poland and emigrated to New York City in 1983. She received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and, over the years, has acted in numerous films, television series, and Broadway plays. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons. This is her first novel.

  Follow the author on Twitter

  https://twitter.com/DagDom17