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Travel trailblazer Jo Rzymowska shares 'deeply personal' story in first book

Diversity and Inclusion
Daniel Pearce
9 October 2026

Travel industry trailblazer Jo Rzymowska’s first book was launched in London on Thursday (8 October), as industry colleagues, friends and family gathered to celebrate the publication of her memoir The Dash of Life.

Jo Rzymowska's book launch
Jo Rzymowska

Author Janet Pywell with Jo Rzymowska at launch of The Dash of Life in London

Rzymowska MBE, best known for her leadership role as Vice President and Managing Director, EMEA at Celebrity Cruises – and named Diversity Trailblazer of the Year at TTG’s Travel Industry Awards in 2021 – has written the book with author Janet Pywell.

The book tells the story of Rzymowska’s parents, Barbara and Julian, with Barbara escaping Nazi persecution through the Kindertransport as a young girl, while Julian fled Warsaw through the city’s tunnels as a boy. 

The memoir draws on hundreds of letters discovered in an unopened box in the attic of Rzymowska, who said the book was an opportunity to honour her parents.