Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jew, started writing a diary in March 1941, while living in an increasingly restricted Amsterdam, until she was voluntarily deported to Westerbork in 1942, where she wrote letters to friends. Hillesum‘s fierce optimism and unquenchable joy for the beauty of life in the midst of such adverse circumstances are astounding. I learned so much wisdom from this beautiful soul whose short life burned brightly.🔸#decemberreads2021