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Some reviews of The Freedom Circus;

‘A story of extraordinary bravery, resilience and love that needed to be told.�
Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

‘Smethurst is a compassionate, sharp writer, offering a unique angle of the war too often described only by men on the front line.�
Jessie Tu

‘The Freedom Circus has a cinematic quality, as the narrative pans across several continents while Smethurst creates a sharp contrast between the horrors unfurling outside the Big Top world and the high-octane stunts and escapism inside it. It is an extraordinary wartime story of survival, escape and ingenuity.�
Weekend Australian

‘There’s plenty to nourish us in The Freedom Circus, where we have Sue Smethurst’s persistence to thank. She cajoled her grandmother-in-law (with cakes from St Kilda) into telling her the story of her escape from Poland and across much of the world.�
Australian Jewish News

‘An enthralling tale of survival against the odds. Readers will find themselves totally caught up in the fate of Mindla and her family.�
Canberra Times

‘An incredible tale of love, loss, endurance, resilience, survival and determination.�
Townsville Bulletin

‘A wonderful, simple story of a family that escaped the Holocaust and their experiences through both Russia and Poland as the Nazis came into power. . . It is an insight into a simple story that alerts you to how different your life is when someone else dictates what you are and are not allowed to think even to yourself. Read it so you appreciate how lucky we are to live in democracies, read it to understand why people flock to live in Democracies both legally and illegally.�
Spectator

‘A true Australian holocaust story with a remarkable new angle. . . Reminiscent of The Greatest Showman and Schindler’s List, The Freedom Circus will have you gripped to the very last page and is an important new chapter in Australia’s Holocaust history. It is an amazing true story of hope, love, persecution and the power of laughter.�
Onya Magazine

As a writer, it is an enormous privilege when someone chooses you to share their most intimate story.
I was incredibly humbled to tell the story of Katherine X in Behind Closed Doors, Katherine is a woman who was held captive by her father for almost four decades, in a country town in Australia.
Katherine was her father's sex slave. She gave birth to four his children.
It is the worst case of abuse, sexual, physical and emotional, ever committed in Australia, with similarities to Josef Fritzl in Austria & Elizabeth Smart in Utah, USA.
Katherine’s story is as moving and inspirational as it is utterly shocking. She reveals how she survived such an horrific ordeal and forged a new life in the wake of Australia's most shameful crime. A crime that should never have happened.
The people who were tasked with protecting her didn’t believe her, turned a blind eye.
The system failed her.
Behind Closed Doors is a story of resilience, strength, courage and love, it is a story of healing and overcoming whatever trauma life deals you.
You can't help but be moved by Katherine's voice. It was a great honour bringing her story to life.


Behind Closed Doors
My Story

I've been asked many times how I was able to recreate the detail of scenes while writing The Freedom Circus. At 94, did Nanna remember every detail so vividly? No she didn't. One of my secrets was to use daily newspapers, including circus reviews which were amazingly helpful to recreate the moment. I was also very fortunate that artist Marina Amaral colourised black and white images I found in the Polish national archive. Through her work, she brought the circus to life in real time. Such as images of Pop, taken when the circus was performing in Krakow in 1936. When colourised it gave me precise detail of his costume & surrounds. That smile would light up thousands of faces burdened by impending war and the shadow of Hitler, and would entertain the Nazis so his family and many others could escape. While the Nazis laughed, they lived.
Marina's books The World Aflame & The Colour of Time are extraordinary. I feel so privileged to have her work on The Freedom Circus

The Freedom Circus: One family’s death-defying act to escape the Nazis and start a new life in Australia

Covid-19 struck Australia just as I was putting the finishing touches to this book, The Freedom Circus. It was surreal recalling how my grandmother-in-law survived the Holocaust on maggot filled porridge, while watching Australians fighting over toilet paper.
Fear and desperation can drive humans to behave in ways we never imagined possible, and to make decisions otherwise unthinkable.
Mindla and Kubush Horowitz were forced to make many such decisions during World War 2.
They survived the Holocaust and were spared the horrific Warsaw ghetto by performing for the Nazis.
Kubush was a clown with the famous Circus Staniewski in Poland. While the Nazis laughed, they lived.
Their extraordinary story of survival has been 80 years in the making, and arguably, it is more relevant today than ever. Themes of resilience, courage, strength and survival which can teach us all invaluable life lessons.
Mindla and Kubush had an incomparable love, a steely survival instinct, and a zest for life that comes from staring death in the face many times. It was a privilege to write The Freedom Circus and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.
If you loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Happiest Man on Earth, you will most certainly be captivated by The Freedom Circus.
The Freedom Circus