There seems to be a number of books lately that highlight the former Eugenics movement in the US, and rightfully so. This is the 3rd book I’ve read that focuses on it, and prior to them, I’d only ever heard of it in relation to Hitler and his atrocities. Because surely the US wouldn’t be so barbaric, despicable and evil during the 20th century right? Except that Hitler actually got most of his inspiration from the US before the war. He went and ran with it to an extreme and transparent extent, sure, but it was our sin, our evil first. And continued to be for decades later.

I had not heard of T4 with the Nazi’s prior to this book and I appreciate learning more about how the Nazi’s implemented the eugenics practice. I knew they had but not how, and having the Maier family be an affected family humanized it and helped you get a glimpse of how it would have been to be in their position, especially the no-win, horrific decision Johannes had to make.

It really is shocking how we as human beings somehow delude ourselves into thinking we are more superior than another group of people. As if we all don’t have flaws - or even not flaws, just differences! - in one fashion or another.

I also enjoyed the layout of the book with how the author separated the women’s stories and their own dual timelines. Compartmentalizing them like this made them fluid and easy to follow rather than bouncing back and forth.

The only drawback for me in the book is it felt like there wasn’t enough emotional description, especially in Helen’s portion. It mostly was implied. I wasn’t able to feel fully immersed but more on the outside without really knowing how they felt beyond cursory descriptions. Otherwise it was an excellent book and well thought out and conveyed.