Beth Myers - HERLIFE Magazine

In Julia’s side of the story, we are brought into her own personalfamily struggles of the heartache of multiple miscarriages combinedwith the pain of an unfaithful husband. We experience her senseof always being the outsider, “the American,” within her husband’sproud French family. We find Julia’s investigation and questions aboutthe Vel’ d’Hiv increasing the family tension and exposing evidence offamily secrets buried in the past.As the two sides of the puzzle begin to come together, we seehow the exposure of long-hidden secrets can bring healing for some,and unwanted upheaval and pain for others. We are reminded that noteveryone values the truth and, above all else, that many of life’s decisionsare complex. As seen in this story, the results of the choicesmade by each individual spiral outward like waves in a pond, impactingnot only those directly around us, but even unrelated individualsgenerations into the future.The author provides us with important reminders about thelessons learned from the horrors of the Holocaust while keepingus intrigued with the mysterious connection between the two maincharacters. The book reads smoothly, even with the back-and-forthbetween time periods, up until the last few chapters. Sarah’s side ofthe story seems to come to an abrupt end, while Julia’s side of thestory continues but without the previous momentum. In spite of theless-than-powerful-ending, if you enjoy historical fiction, Sarah’s Keyis well worth the read. ■66 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM