Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times. At this moment of worldwide chaos and despair, this is a book that reminds us about what is important, and about finding strength and purpose during the worst of times. Highly recommended.” — Goldie Goldbloom, author of Paperbark Shoe and On Division. In May 1943, she joined the Résistance, working for the Bureau des opérations aériennes (BOA) for the M region. The BOA had been created that April to act as a liaison between the Forces françaises de l’intérieur (FFI, the name used by Charles de Gaulle for the Résistance) and England. The BOA’s role was to ensure the transport of agents and messages and to receive parachute drops of arms. The M region, which was the largest in the FFI, covered Normandy, Brittany, and Anjou. Right before the Normandy landing, managing this territory was crucial and dangerous. The Gestapo was successfully capturing or killing an alarming number of leaders and network members. In the frenetic months surrounding D-Day, Hélène’s region was a hotbed of activity both for the Résistance and for the Gestapo’s increasingly vicious and desperate attempts to break the underground networks. My favourite part of this book was the way it told the story of the lives of the women in the days and years after the war ended. It added an extra dimension to the tale which I haven’t read in other books. However, at times I found the story a little difficult to follow, mainly because it often jumped around quite a lot. But I loved the addition of the photographs, it helped make the story come to life. Overall it was an interesting book. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart or the overly sensitive reader. I wasn’t able to read it right before going to sleep due to its graphic nature. What these women and thousands of others faced is beyond horrible, but that is also why we need these stories to be told. Lest we forget.

Though the dangers the women face are significant, their unorthodox means of travel help contribute to an unexpected feeling of picaresque adventure, as the women lie and scavenge their way toward freedom... The women's bravery and ingenuity as they traverse an almost apocalyptic landscape makes for a thrilling narrative...Gripping." — Shelf Awareness So, a witch's birth date determines which season a witch is tied to. Do you identifywith your birth season?

Gwen Strauss

Some of the most impactful people in my life have been other authors. In 2016, I was fortunate enough to get into a mentorship program called Pitch Wars, where an established author (the incredible Heather Ezell) chose me and my manuscript to mentor through a revision for three months. That book didn't end up getting published, but the experience changed my life. Pitch Wars made me believe--it suddenly surrounded me with people who took me and my writing seriously--and it was that shift that led to my dreams coming true.

From 2005 to 2007 Strauss was Director of the Lacoste Campus ( Lacoste, France) of the Savannah College of Art and Design ( SCAD). Enjeti does not spare her readers the bloody details of Partition: families torn apart, as well as vandalism, arson and other forms of violence. Her narrative urges readers to bear witness to this difficult episode of history. But, like her characters, Enjeti ultimately reaches for hope. The Parted Earth is a testament to the tremendous strength of the people of India and Pakistan who found the courage to begin again. -- Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams Erin Bowman's enthralling post-apocalyptic thriller Dustborn is the story of Delta, a 17-year-old struggling to survive in the decaying wastelands of a desert planet.With his thrillers centered on cop Ari Thór Arason ( Snowblind; Rupture) and detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir ( The Darkness; The Island; The Mist), Ragnar Jónasson has proved himself to be a go-to author for Nordic noir. The Girl Who Died delivers Jónasson's usual sublime atmospheric puzzle but with bonus chills, courtesy of an apparently haunted house. War, incarceration in concentration camps, death marches, and the ensuing pain, misery, and hardship, makes one wonder at the fortitude and perseverance required both to live, and to survive, the cruelty and oppression, but the nine courageous ladies here did survive, after a daring escape from a column of prisoners along the route of their death march, and this is their shared story, a story of resilience, friendship and survival against all the odds. Lila Macapagal is a whip-smart, willful, 25-year-old Asian American. She retreats from Chicago to her hometown of Shady Palms, Ill., intent on recovering from the sting of a cheating beau, while tasked to save her Tita (Aunt) Rosie's failing Filipino restaurant. But when Derek Winter--Lila's first love, a self-important, self-proclaimed restaurant reviewer with a vindictive ax to grind--sets out to pan the eating establishment, all hell breaks loose. During one of Derek's reconnaissance meals, he has a confrontation with Lila, then face-plants right into one of her signature treats and drops dead. When poisoning is ruled the culprit, Lila becomes the prime suspect and matters escalate, forcing Lila to figure a way to exonerate herself and root out the real killer. A] narrative of unfathomable courage... Ms. Strauss does her readers—and her subjects—a worthy service by returning to this appalling history of the courage of women caught up in a time of rapacity and war." —Wall Street Journal

Once liberated, many people were still not safe and continued to suffer hardships. I found this book to be a powerful testament to what exists inside a person when they encounter the most difficult times of life and find the courage and the will to overcome their situation. Since discovering the story two decades ago, Strauss believes attitudes have changed. “Absolutely in France. Medals are now being given to some women and there’s an understanding of trauma, including intergenerational trauma, and the importance of bearing witness.” The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860488-the-nine Students celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day explore 12 challenges currently facing Native nations in Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac's impassioned and informative follow-up to We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga.Strauss is the author of five books, including Ruth and the Greenbook (2010), six anthologies, numerous short essays and fictions, and poetry. Ruth and the Greenbook (2010) has been awarded numerous prizes. Her latest book, The Nine (2021), is about the true story of a group of women who survived the worst of Nazi Germany.