Jill_Mercier

Well written story about the man who broke out of Auschwitz. The bravery, skill, critical thinking and never ending determination of one man is told in a way that should inspire more people to learn the past and to remind us that we must actively work to prevent the past from repeating itself.

This book had me hooked with the very first sentence: “The President is hiding.” This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the relationship between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin and how the three finally worked together to bring the war to its conclusion. The authors did a nice job highlighting the rise of Hitler’s power, how Japan and Italy entered the war while also explaining Roosevelt’s reluctance to involve the U.S. All of this is done in a way that sets the stage for understanding the intricacies of the secret plot to kill the three leaders.

I was a bit skeptical about whether such a complex story with such intense emotion could be told in just over 300 pages. The author’s story had me hooked in less than 50 pages as she bared her soul. She found a way to touch on how her decision as a teenager still continued to impact her during key points in her adult life. She did not mince words when writing about how her teenage decisions later impacted choices she made as an adult, choices that often required determination and grit to get through. As the story came to a close, I couldn’t help but want to know more about whether her spirituality helped her in any way in her later adult years, especially with the guilt and shame she carried for so long. The bittersweet ending is one that reinforces the importance of mercy, hope and never giving up.