A daughter's quest to uncover her father's truths, and share them with the world. Experience one woman's incredible story about what she uncovered in a treasure trove of WWII letters, hidden away by her Czech father. As the WWII generation passes on, their children and grandchildren must carry on their stories of loss and hope-making us aware of the consequences of indifference. As author Joanie Holzer Schirm sets the voices free, her discoveries become the greatest gift of all for a world in turmoil that needs more hope.

After the death of Joanie Holzer Schirm’s parents in 2000, she found hundreds of letters, held together by rusted paperclips and stamped with censor marks, sent from Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, China, and South and North America, along with journals, vintage film, taped interviews, and photographs. In working through these various materials documenting the life of her father, Oswald “Valdik” Holzer, she learned of her family history through his remarkable experiences of exile and loss, resilience and hope. In this posthumous memoir, Schirm elegantly re-creates her father’s youthful voice as he comes of age as a Jew in interwar Prague, escapes from a Nazi-held army unit, practices medicine in China’s war-ravaged interior, and settles in the United States to start a family. Introducing us to a diverse cast of characters ranging from the humorous to the menacing, Holzer’s life story is an inspirational account of survival during wartime, a cinematic epic spanning multiple continents, and ultimately a tale with a twist—a book that will move readers for generations to come. Purchase the audio edition.

This text contains excerpts from over 400 letters from 78 correspondents sent during World War II featuring the author's father Oswald A. Holzer, MD, and his family and friends.

Two worlds, two stories, two books in one, to be flipped and read from whichever direction you like!

She’s the only one who ever loved him—and the only one he can never have. Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there's no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere. Sophie Haines is stunned by his reappearance. After a three year absence, the man who killed her brother and broke her heart is suddenly everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never volunteer in the church kitchen. No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie's police chief father. But it's a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself. For fans of: Melanie Harlow, Corinne Michaels, Meghan March, Lauren Blakely, Julia Kent, Elle Kennedy, Tijan, CD Reiss, Kendall Ryan, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Jana Aston, K Bromberg, Katy Evans, Jessica Hawkins, Kristen Proby, Penny Reid, Helena Hunting, Sally Thorne, Kristen Ashley, Helen Hoang, Kylie Scott, Christina Lauren, Jana Aston, Sawyer Bennett, Lexi Ryan, Karina Halle, Skye Warren, Kennedy Ryan, Jodi Ellen Mapas, Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis, Elle Kennedy. Keywords: Small town romance, Vermont romance, New England, alpha male, addiction, second chance at love, forbidden romance, family saga, rural setting, farmers, orchard, cider, romantic suspense, sexy romance, Sarina Bowen, drug addiction, Vermont, True North series, forbidden romance, contemporary romance, coming of age, wrongful imprisonment, opioid crisis.