A woman unlocks the mystery of her father’s wartime past in a moving novel about secrets, sacrifice, and the power of love by the bestselling author of Daughters of the Night Sky.
Beth Cohen wants to make the most of the months she has left with her elderly father, Max. His only request of his daughter is to go through the long-forgotten box of memorabilia from his days as a medic on the western front. Then, among his wartime souvenirs, Beth finds a photograph of her father with an adoring and beautiful stranger—a photograph worth a thousand questions.
It was 1944 when Max was drawn into the underground resistance by the fearless German wife of a Nazi officer. Together, she and Max were willing to risk everything for what they believed was right. Ahead of them lay a dangerous romance, a dream of escape, and a destiny over which neither had control.
But Max isn’t alone in his haunting remembrances of war. In a nearby private care home is a fragile German-born woman with her own past to share. Only when the two women meet does Beth realize how much more to her father there is to know, all the ways in which his heart still breaks, and the closure he needs to heal it.
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“Inspired by a true and powerful story, Runyan has written a wondrous story of courage, sacrifice, and most importantly, love. Expertly winding between WWII and present time, Across the Winding River accomplishes the almost-impossible: layering three stories that come together to take your breath away. Runyan captures the heart-thumping years after Pearl Harbor and then wanders through the terrifying battles of Hurgen Forest. The vivid narrative is born of impeccable research, and reaches through the pages straight to the reader’s heart. Uncertainty is the fire through which all the characters must pass. With a bit of mystery, a lot of heart, and beautiful prose, Across the Winding River will steal your imagination and you’ll be the better for it.
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Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis