Really interesting premise. The what-ifs that could ensue if discrimination, blind blame, blind following, and generality is allowed to run unchecked felt possible and realistic. Like the author said in her afterward, it’s happened before and to smaller extents still does.

I love that despite the impossibility, Margaret stood up and did something. Historically that’s so often why evil is allowed to run rampant. People think that to stand up and push back won’t avail much so they give in to a “lesser evil”. But it takes someone to make a difference and give others the courage to do the same.

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.

I was living in upstate NY during 9/11 and remember it vividly as well as know ppl who were in the city.

The 9/11 event portion was actually really small in the book. I was hoping there would be more but the majority of it was post-9/11 with the amnesia situation and a lot on the faith journey of both sets of spouses before and after. It was well written, tho wasn’t exactly what I was looking for but was still good.

Love the rawness and open honesty. I appreciate that it’s not a “you should” or even a how-to. It’s a look at life and the mix of joy and grief we face daily when we are confronted with both the every day hard and the insurmountable hard. How that mix inevitably affects our view and trust of God and how, as we respond to him with gratitude, it shifts that balance to joy and trust. Love the concept that gratitude and fear cannot coexist at the same time.

The writing isn’t typical - it’s poetic and not linear. I didn’t care for it in one of Ann’s other books I read but maybe it’s just because I listened to the audio for this so it flowed better, or maybe just because I expected it, I was ok with the style here.

So much to think about and consider, and very timely as God’s insight and words so often are.

Heartbreaking and yet hopeful, I think I’d say this book was ultimately about belonging.

It’s tragic how many children, Jewish especially, were lost during WW2, never returned to their families and even hidden away when they were found. And yet the book showed some of the grey areas too - children who didn’t have family left but loving foster families who wanted them, but were taken as a matter of principle. I get it, without teaching them their history and the importance of it, so much would be lost, but at what cost to the children themselves? I’m not sure what the right answer is. But the insurmountable work done in identifying all the lost children, and reconnecting them somehow was so inspiring, and something I wasn’t really aware of.

I thought the book did an excellent job at showing the very real struggles kids in any circumstances of displacement would be faced with, not knowing where they belonged or how, or to whom. And not often having anyone to fill in the blanks for them. Often philosophical, I thought it was very moving.