A Picture of Hope

I have come to the conclusion that I would read a phone book written by Liz Tolsma.  She weaves a story that grabs the reader from the very first page and doesn't let go until that reader is worn out and left panting for breath.  She takes her readers on journeys they may not want to travel, but she does it with grace and aplomb that make the reader glad they went on the particular reading journey.  

A Picture of Hope details the story of Nellie, a correspondent/photographer to the Chicago Tribune, who was sent to England to cover the war.  Nellie was an intrepid character who hated being left out of the action and did what she had to do to get to France on D-Day.  She got more than she bargained for and lives the adventure of her lifetime.  She took a jeep ride with a soldier who was trying to get her into a town in France, but his driving left much to be desired.  He overturned the jeep and killed himself, although Nellie came out of the accident largely unscathed. 

While hiding out in the woods outside of town, Nellie encountered Claire, a young girl of about four years who was what was termed in those days a Mongoloid, but would be known now as Down Syndrome.  Inside the town, the German soldiers were burning a church with the women and children of the town trapped inside.  After the soldiers leave, she poses Claire in front of the burning church and takes her picture.  

It was in these woods and town that she met French resistance operative Jean-Paul, who helped her get to the convent St. Roth.  The nuns took her in with Claire and hid them.  There were two other such children in the convent that they were hiding from the Germans who wished to exterminate them.   But their hideout became too dangerous for them to stay put.  

This is a book that tells of more than the atrocities against the Jews; it tells the story of all the "cleansing" Hitler wanted to accomplish through targeting some of the most innocents there are. Nellie and Jean-Paul's work to protect these innocents and to give them a hopeful future is a mainstay of this book and make it the sensational read it is.  

I often read at night before going to sleep and I keep a pad of paper beside me to write down any notes I want to remember about what I am reading.  In a conversation between Nellie and one of the nuns, Sister Raphael, Nellie asks, "Don't you ever get tired of all the evil in the world?"  Sister replies, "That's what all of this is meant for."  Nellie asks her, "All of what?"  Sister Raphael answers, "This suffering is meant to make our souls long for heaven.  The world wearies us and weighs us down.  Oh, but there is another world where we will never weary and where we will never long for anything better."  

Later on in the book, Jean-Paul says, "Evil is strong.  It has no boundaries.  Only by God's goodness and grace is it contained. But someday, it will be eliminated--wiped away forever."  Oh but I long for that day. 

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a beautiful picture of a child to cherish.  

Barbour Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.