My Mother's Secret: Based on a True Holocaust Story

J. L. Witterick

Oct 2015 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Elizabeth Wiley

About this audiobook

Franciszka and her daughter, Helena, are simple, ordinary people until 1939, when the Nazis invade their homeland. Providing shelter to Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland is a death sentence, but Franciszka and Helena do exactly that. In their tiny home in Sokal, they hide a Jewish family in a loft above their pigsty, a Jewish doctor with his wife and son in a makeshift cellar under the kitchen, and a defecting German soldier in the attic-each party completely unknown to the others. For everyone to survive, Franciszka will have to outsmart her neighbors and the German commander. Told simply and succinctly from four different perspectives, My Mother's Secret is a testament to the kindness, courage, and generosity of ordinary people who chose to be extraordinary.

Ratings and reviews

This is a shell of what could have been an intriguing story in the hands of anyone with an ounce of talent. Instead, we get a poorly crafted outline. It feels rushed and half-baked. None of the characters are well developed. We get an annoying plastic explanation of how all the characters got there, but no insights into them as people or how they passed the time in hiding. It's ALL tell and absolutely no show, and as a result it's incredibly shallow. There are so many directions this story could have gone, but it chooses cheap amateur writing and rushed narrative. One character is disgustingly melodramic and whiny, and the rest are facades with no real texture, and none of them are relatable. It was a truly disappointing experience, but since Google audiobooks are "all sales are final" I guess I'm stuck with this. If I'm gonna pay $10.81 for something, I expect it to be halfway decent. This book didn't even come close. SAVE. YOUR. MONEY.

About the author

Originally from Taiwan, J. L. Witterick has been living in Canada since her family's arrival in 1968. She attended the University of Western Ontario, graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business. Her debut novel, My Mother's Secret, has been published in several countries around the world.

AudioFile Earphones Award winner Elizabeth Wiley is a seasoned actor, dialect coach, theater professor, and dedicated narrator. She brings over twenty-five years of award-winning acting and voice experience to the studio to create memorable, compelling storytelling.