Preface "Once Upon a Time" is usually associated with a fairy tale; however in my writing it presents a realistic look at my life and my experiences that includes the hardship of the depression years, war, illness and losses, along with hope, opportunity and changes in my view of the world. Against the background that reflects some of the most important events of the twentieth century in my life, I put my memories into a larger cultural context. Also I emphasize the qualities relating to love, persistent in identity and responsibility. I am trying to be chronologically as close as possible to the actual time as it happened. Sometimes it was unavoidable to go forward and refer back to some event that happened in the past. I started with the introduction of my larger family, following with my childhood, the years of puberty, the growing up years, the war, the prison, the life under communist dictator ship, the fight and determination to find a better life. I also deal with more recent events, with my thoughts on politics, religion and spirituality as they occurred in the last few years. As I write incidents from the past I frequently interrupt with comments about the reasons and responses that underlines each moments. Finally I closed "My story" with a letter exchanged between my children and me with the final conclusion that my life was worth the effort.