All her life, Hannah Sterling longed for a close relationship with her estranged mother. Following Lieselotte’s death, Hannah determines to unlock the secrets of her mother’s mysterious past and is shocked to discover a grandfather living in Germany.Thirty years earlier, Lieselotte’s father is quickly ascending the ranks of the Nazi party, and a proper marriage for his daughter could help advance … advance his career. Lieselotte is in love–but her beloved Lukas is far from an ideal match, as he secretly works against the Reich. Yet Lieselotte never imagined how far her father would go to ensure her cooperation.Both Hannah’s and Lieselotte’s stories unfold as Hannah travels to Germany to meet her grandfather, who is hiding wartimes secrets of his own. Longing for connection, yet shaken by all she uncovers, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family’s tragic past and how their legacy will shape her future.
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An amazing, sometimes shattering, story. Poignant and suspenseful, heartbreaking and hopeful. This novel is all of those things. Some of the questions Hannah has to face made me hesitate, wondering how I would respond in her place. Highly recommended.
There are those books that inspire, or keep our noses within the pages, or grip our hearts with the sad reality of humanity. Then there is SECRETS SHE KEPT by Cathy Gohlke, that are all these things.
The story of two women. A mother who survives the horrors of the Holocaust, and her daughter who discovers that journey after her mother’s death.
It was Gohlke who was the cause of me becoming a reader of historical fiction. She is a trustworthy author who paints in beautiful prose, the most terrible of mankind’s work, and the most inspiring.
This book has stuck with me since I finished it. It is written about a German girl growing up in Hitler’s Germany. I was horrified at the way people turned on the Jews and looked down on them and the atrocities committed. And how people were afraid even in the 1970s to admit they were Jews. I couldn’t put this book down. I wanted to find out what would happen. Truly an amazing book
I received free copy of this book from bookfun.org for my honest review.
The beginning was interesting & suspenseful, but that ending!!! Love the confessing church (Bonhoeffer) & Corrie Ten boom tie in. A book my students & I have greatly appreciated!
Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke is a marvellous Christian historical novel that will consume your thoughts and your every waking moment. At the heart of the novel are secrets and choice. We all must choose when we stand at crossroads in life. We always have the choice to do the right thing. We do not always choose what happens to us but we can choose our responses.
The novel is set over two time periods – 1938-1945 in Nazi Germany and 1972 in America and Germany. The voices are those of mother and daughter and in the first person as they alternate the chapters.
Germany in 1972 was still feeling the after effects of the war. “What they think about life, how they viewed the Reich and Hitler’s accomplishments or even executions … I would be very surprised if much of that has changed in their minds.” Fear still lived in the hearts of the Jewish survivors as they realised “prejudice does not disappear because laws change.” There were still German survivors of the war who still believed that they did no wrong. This is utterly, utterly horrifying and had a profound effect on me as I read.
The guilty parties felt no guilt. However subsequent generations who learnt about the sins of the fathers were consumed by guilt. They desired to atone for the murder of the six million but how can you ever atone for that? Guilt and hate will cripple. “Don’t hate… that’s a prison worse than Ravensbruck.” There are some things that we carry that seem impossible to put down. It is then that we must ask God for His help to forgive. Not in our strength but in His. We must release ourselves from the grip of hate.
Not all Germans were Nazis. “I wear the uniform because I must.” There were ordinary men and women who did extraordinary acts of courage in order to help others.
In contrast there were families who would denounce their own children. Their misplaced loyalty to Hitler was greater than their love for family. One Hitler Youth member said this of his dying mother: “She’s draining our finances and her life is no longer productive.” Horrifying, absolutely horrifying. There are no words.
Some of the novel is set in Ravensbruck concentration camp. There are some harrowing scenes to read but there is also great hope and love as the name of Jesus is preached. “Our circumstances don’t dictate our reality.” Jesus’ love was deeper than the pit of horror and hate.
The novel is about a search for roots begun in 1972. A character wants to know the truth about her mother. What she uncovers is not what she was expecting. The survivors of war always have a story but not always one that they tell.
Cathy Gohlke uses the literary device of pathetic fallacy as the storm on the outside mirrors the turmoil on the inside.
Secrets She Kept is a compulsive read. It is a harrowing read. It is a hope filled read. I could not put it down. Cathy Gohkle has captured the horrors of war as well as the bravery of ordinary Germans. This book will break your heart whilst simultaneously feed your faith with the goodness of God and of some of our fellow man.
This book needs to be read in memory of the six million innocents. We must keep their memory alive.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
Just stunning! I can’t find the right words. I feel broken and filled with hope and forgiveness at the same time. It conjures the same feelings I had when I visited the Holocaust Museum. I shed tears then as I am shedding tears now for the atrocities that occurred and the forgiveness that comes through Christ’s amazing grace. My mind can not comprehend how or why and my heart bleeds. This book is so beautifully written and flows from Hannah’s story to her mother’s story flawlessly. Seriously this should be made into a movie. I love how Corrie Ten Boom became a part of the story and tied it all together for me…Brilliant. I recommend everyone read this as you will walk away with food for thought and a changed heart, especially with what is occurring now in present day.
I won a copy of this from a blog and feel so blessed that I did. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.
Awesome time slip novel – contemporary and World War 2 novel. Beautifully written with a powerful message about forgiveness and God’s love and grace. I highly recommend this novel and any other written by Cathy Gohlke.
A favorite author. Her stories are engaging with the developed characters and informative with the historical background. It kept me up at night just to continue reading.
I LOVED this book!!! I have a special preference for WWII reads especially ones as captivating as this one!! And it was particularly interesting since it has two historical timelines with no contemporary. A very intriguing and enjoyable read!
There are some books that are impossible to review. “Secrets she kept is one of them”.
It is a book about how human being’s selfishness can destroy the purest and most honest of relationships. It’s about finding forgiveness in the midst of betrayal and about finding peace when hatred wants to tear your heart apart.
All of the characters were so well and deeply developed.
I wanted to punch Dr Peterson every time he appeared. I wanted to hug and cry with Hannah and Liselotte.
Both settings were captivating and I almost couldn’t bear waiting to find out what was going to happen.
The lessons learned and the personal emotional history of each character are very applicable today. Therefore this is also a book meant to shake is in our core and make us think deeply and honestly about ourselves and our motives.
Historical fiction with characters that we can identify with and learn from.
Loved this book, well written and hard to put down. It is set in Germany during WWII and during the 70s. A woman loses her mother and finds out her father wasn’t her father, as well as her Mother wasn’t from Austria but Germany and that her Grandfather was still alive. It’s not your typical story of finding your lost relative and all is good. It’s a story that will haunt you well after your done, but makes for a good read along the way!
I really enjoyed this book, even though I don’t really enjoy stories written in first person. It was a story that kept your attention, and was very educational, too.
A great way to start the new year! Did not want to put this down. Great weaving of story and truth.
Great book!
A most creative view of how families, even years later, were affected by life in Germany during World War II. One you won’t want to miss.
A great read. I literally could not put Secrets She Kept down.
I recommend this book to everyone!!! It takes you back to before WWII and gives you an inside look at what the Jews suffered at the hand of Hitler. It’s informative, scary at times and and a love story all rapped up in one book.
Overall, a good WWII story. One character (Daddy) was weak — never understood that element of the story. But other characters were strong. New aspect of Jewish persecution that I had not heard. This was my first book by this author — think I’ll try another one.
The best look inside of the Holocost from a Germans stand point…. this book is totally amazing …. you can’t put it down….