only the beautiful.... a BEAUTIFULLY written book!

loved it. highly recommend. was taken from the first chapter and couldn't wait to hear the end. once near the end, i didnt want it to end.

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Tear Jerker!

Beautiful story with some twists and turns. Loved it right to the end! Highly recommend!

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5+ stars - Where do I begin?

I cannot currently fathom the words I will be using for this review. I’m simply going to write from the heart and perhaps jumble it altogether into a messy, yet sincere, pile of wonderment. 5+ stars.

I’ve read many of Susan Meissner’s books and I pre-ordered this months ago. I listened to all 12 hours and 28 minutes in about a day in a half. (And, yes, I have many neglected tasks to catch up on despite a valiant effort of multi-tasking while listening! Sometimes I just needed to sit quietly, be in the moment, and listen.)

This book is in two parts with Rosie in the first part and Helen in the second. There are two narrators, one for each half, and both were well-chosen and appropriate. The stellar vocal performances are given by Jorjeana Marie for Rosie and Xe Sands for Helen. The two stories are written so well and I was invested the entire time in both word and performance.

Rosie becomes tragically orphaned and her parents’ employers somewhat reluctantly become her guardians. She is able to continue to live on the land she grew up on. (This was in lieu of any family for her to go to.) The husband, Truman, is the brother of the aforementioned Helen, who works overseas as a nanny during the time Rosie lives with her brother and sister-in-law.

Without giving away spoilers beyond the provided book description, I will share that Rosie is wrongfully sent to an inappropriate place where she gives birth to a daughter. The baby goes to a foster home to be placed for adoption—against Rosie’s will. She becomes a victim of eugenics. The war brought on by the Nazi regime is largely thought to be the ‘start’ of the horrific practice of eugenics. Many believe that it did not happen before or after. But it DID.

Rosie struggles in her efforts to rebuild her life alone, find happiness, and experience love again. Her life’s prayer is for her daughter to be without the same affliction she had and for her to live in a good, safe home. When she learns the truth of her affliction, she feels her life can finally be free and begin in earnest.

In the second half, we learn much more about Helen. She is caring for a larger family of children in Europe, particularly one beautiful child that has some minor physical ‘deformities.’ The reader learns more about the horrors of eugenics upon ‘imperfect’ children during the war. The reader cheers on those who risk everything to take children to safety elsewhere. We see the multi-faceted destruction left behind from the inhumanity of eugenics.

When Helen finds no reason to remain in Europe, she returns to America to a bitter, widowed sister-in-law. She proceeds to look for Rosie, whom she adored years before, but to no avail. However she does find an unexpected and incredible blessing along the way that alters the course of her life.

The end of the book had me crying both sad and happy tears. It is powerful and is complete in what initially felt incomplete. (You will understand that confusing statement when you read it!).

As the author put in a Note at the end of the book, eugenics is something most do not know about. Or they associate it with Hitler and the Nazi regime in Europe. The truth is that it existed before AND it continued on for decades after the war, including many states in America.

Again, as a reader, I cried for the last couple of chapters of the book, as well as the epilogue. I cried not only for the past but for our world today.

(This is a personal note: In Canada, they are now allowing people to choose assisted suicide due to mental health issues, financial issues, physical issues, and more. This thought is not just in Canada but it is invading around the world. It is masquerading as “compassion” and for “relief” to taxpayers. There are other forms by other names worldwide. Our world apparently did NOT learn from the past. The corruption and evil is still here in newly packaged forms. “It’s for your own good” is the gateway to tyranny and unspeakable evil.)

This book touched my heart for too many reasons to list here. It is beautifully written and the characters, both major and minor, are written with such clarity. It’s as though you are there watching everything play out from a short distance. The strength of the main characters, and the formidable resolve of both Rosie and Helen, is awe-inspiring. Their heartache is your heartache. Their disappointments are punches to your gut. Their moments of joy bring a lightness and flutter to your heart. Though I did wish for a stronger faith element in the book, my heart did see and feel the “beautiful” contained within the title. It is there in the small moments and the big moments. Your definition of “beautiful” will expand into a kaleidoscope of colours. The faithfulness of God shows throughout their stories with His provision, timing, and His answer to a long-held heart’s prayer.

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