My Mother's Secret: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story [Paperback]

Inspired by a true story,My Mother’s Secretis a captivating and ultimately uplifting tale intertwining the lives of two Jewish families in hiding from the Nazis, a fleeing German soldier, and the mother and daughter who save them all.
 
Franciszka and her daughter, Helena, are simple, ordinary people...until 1939, when the Nazis invade their homeland. Providing shelter to Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland is a death sentence, but Franciszka and Helena do exactly that. In their tiny home in Sokal, they hide a Jewish family in a loft above their pigsty, a Jewish doctor with his wife and son in a makeshift cellar under the kitchen, and a defecting German soldier in the attic—each party completely unknown to the others. For everyone to survive, Franciszka will have to outsmart her neighbors and the German commander.
 
Told simply and succinctly from four different perspectives—all under one roof—My Mother’s Secretis a testament to the kindness, courage, and generosity of ordinary people who chose to be extraordinary.“A moving and captivating portrait.”—Amir R. Gissin, Consulate General of Israel

“A reflection of our own era, a reminder of how far wrong we can be led...an important book.”—Joseph Kertes, author ofGratitude, winner of the Canadian Jewish Book Award

“The woman at the heart of this novel will haunt you after you read about her fearless compassion, her defiance of the odds of survival.”—Anna Porter, award-winning author ofKasztner’s TrainJ.L. Witterick is the international bestselling author ofMy Mother's Secret. It was always her passion to create a story about how anything is possible if we connect with each other through kindness, understanding, and courage. Originally from Taiwan, she has been living in Canada since her family’s arrival in 1968.

Part I

HELElÄ