Part of Series
Rachel, a Jew, and Sergei, a Christian, find their worlds torn apart by violence in pre-revolutionary Russia... Rachel is a Jew living in Kishinev, Russia. At fourteen, Rachel knows that she wants more from life than the traditional role of wife and mother. She has dreams of being a writer. But everything is put on hold when a young Christian man is murdered and Rachel is forced to keep the murderer’s identity a secret. Tensions mount as the Christians’ distrust of the Jews is fueled by prejudice and rumour. While Rachel keeps the truth to herself, she watches as lies and anti-Jewish propaganda leap off the pages of the local newspaper, inciting Christians to riot against the Jews. Violence breaks out on Easter Sunday, 1903, and when it finally ends, Rachel finds that the person she loves most is dead and that her home has been destroyed. As she struggles to survive the aftermath of the riots – or pogroms – support comes from someone totally unexpected, when a young Christian named Sergei turns against his father, a police officer complicit in the riots, to help Rachel. With everything against them, the two young people find comfort in the bond that is growing between them, one of the few signs of goodness and hope in a time of chaos and violence.
Author
Daughters of the Occupation, HarperCollins, 2022, is a Canadian Bestseller, and received a Starred Review from Kirkus: “A gripping historical saga that skilfully addresses the trauma of the Holocaust.” This historical fiction explores intergenerational trauma from the Latvian Holocaust, and was spurred by ancestors, as well as the discovery of my Jewish roots as an adult. The Washington Post says, “The title of this haunting novel refers not only to the victims of Latvia’s Holocaust but also to their descendants, who carry the trauma of their ancestors.” “…this is a read that will stay in the minds of those lucky enough to read it.”—New York Journal of Books Here's a review from New York Times bestselling author Lucy Adlington (The Dressmakers of Auschwitz): "Daughters of the Occupation is a neatly crafted saga of personal and national trauma, a story of tentative hope in a world of menace, as three generations of women strive to understand who they are, where they came from and how they can feel free." My first three novels, Rachel’s Secret, Rachel’s Promise, and Rachel’s Hope (Second Story Press) were inspired by my grandmother’s escape from a Russian pogrom and subsequent journey to Shanghai. They received starred reviews, including Booklist and VOYA, and two were named Notable Books by the Sydney Taylor Book Awards announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Before I started weaving my family through historical narratives, I was a journalist, writing about everything from green architecture to Tourette’s Syndrome for the Toronto Star, National Post, Canadian Jewish News, Maclean’s magazine, Canadian Living, and Reader’s Digest. (I did write about family in a few pieces; it was impossible to resist when all three of my children got lice at the same time, or when we hosted a Chernobyl child.)
