The Girl with the Diary

By: Shari J. Ryan

Narrated by: Stephanie Willis, Susan Larkin, Chris Kayser

The worn leather-bound diary, tied with a red ribbon, has hidden the truth for seventy years. The spine crackles as she opens it, reading the long-forgotten words of her grandmother. “What if you never come back? What if you die trying?”

Nazi-occupied Prague, 1942: Amelia is hiding in her closet when flashlights blind her and she’s captured by the SS. Out on the cobblestone street, her heart shatters as her mother is shot before her eyes. She is shoved onto a freight train with hundreds of others—hours pass as they travel in darkness.

Arriving in a concentration camp, Amelia fears for her life when she is led to a block by a soldier. He is her enemy, yet he secretly passes her a piece of bread; an act that saves her.

They are meant to despise one another, but Amelia and Charlie are powerfully drawn to each other. Amelia sees how Charlie risks everything to save prisoners from deportation—and she sees the kindness in his eyes.

Amongst so much tragedy, falling in love is a miracle. Yet, one day, Charlie utters those miraculous words. “I’m in love with you. To everyone else, we’re wrong, but what does that matter when nothing in this world is right?”

But under the all-seeing gaze of the guards and endless watchtowers, there is only so long they can keep their secret—and the very act of loving each other endangers their lives. Will they remain loyal to each other in the face of death? And when they finally say goodbye, will it be by choice or by force?

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Orphan Train will be totally swept away by this World War Two heartbreaker which shows that, even in hell, love can bloom.

This book was previously published as Last Words.

©2024 Shari J. Ryan (P)2024 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Last Words

best audible I have heard since I became a member in the spring of 2020!!

Great story!!

Loved every minute of it! Narrators brought it to life and it was an absorbing listen. wonderful!!

Exceptional

I love reading victory stories. This one is one of the best. I know it is fictional but I believe there is someone out there that lived a very similar life of sacrifice and love.
The actors voices added reality to the story. Thank you, it will stay in my memory for a long time.

A splendid story of deep love and survival

You will immediately be absorbed into this beautiful story. Love between man and woman, love between grandmother and granddaughter and new love for a young couple. I enjoyed thoroughly this beautiful retelling of an amazingly strong woman

Try not to cry

This was a wonderful book! I found myself fighting back tears knowing the author’s grandmother was honored so well.