What I Left for You

Echoes of the Past, Book 3

By: Liz Tolsma

Narrated by: Natasha Soudek

A Family's Ties Were Broken in Poland of 1939

1939

Helena Kostyszak is an oddity—an educated female ethnic minority lecturing at a university in Krakow at the outbreak of WWII. When the Germans close the university and force Jews into the ghetto, she spirits out a friend's infant daughter and flees to her small village in the southern hills. Helena does everything in her power to protect her family, but it may not be enough. It will take all of her strength and God's intervention for both of them to survive the war and the ethnic cleansing to come.

2023

Recently unengaged social worker McKenna Muir is dealt an awful blow when a two-year-old she's been working with is murdered. It's all too much to take, so her friend suggests she dive into her family's past like she's always wanted. Putting distance between herself and her problems might help her heal, so she and her friend head on Sabbatical to Poland. But what McKenna discovers about her family shocks everyone, including one long-lost family member.

Also in the Echoes of the Past Series:

What I Would Tell You

What I Promise You.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Liz Tolsma (P)2024 Oasis Audio

Remarkable WWII Novel!

No matter what, God.

This Christian WWII dual time-line novel is an incredible read, evoking a myriad of emotions when much of Europe and its inhabitants were destroyed by Adolph Hitler. Written with excellence, many times I felt as if I were there – the home of the Lemkos in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains, or Krakow, or the German work camp. For those triggered by child abuse, there are two instances noted but not detailed.

What I appreciated most were the faith journeys of Helena and her great granddaughter, McKenna. McKenna struggled with recent events in her life and learning what her great grandmother endured. Some had a strong faith that grew through trials. Others talked about their faith or doubts with close family or friends.

At times, there were difficult things to read even once, yet I definitely would read it again. There are many good times that readers will enjoy, and times that could have broken those who endured them. The primary characters are three dimensional, engaging people in whom I was quickly invested.

Helena was one of the few Lemkos who went to school past early elementary grades, then graduated from the university in Krakow. She became a lecturer there when women were not yet allowed to be professors, and sent money home to make her mother’s life easier.

Jerzy, a friend and professor, and Helena changed their life direction in 1942. Polish Jews were forced to live in the deprivation and disease of the Jewish ghetto. Jerzy and Helena went in to see Helena’s dear friend, Risa. Hours after Risa died in the ghetto hospital, they risked everything to smuggle her baby girl, Teena, out. Jerzy and Helena married and moved to Dubne, where Helena’s mother welcomed them with open arms.

Helena and Jerzy assisted several partisans and Lemkos escape prison, after which Helena would never see Mama or Teena again. The couple was captured. Jerzy was killed, and Helena was sent to a work camp. By the time Helena could safely go home after the war, Mama and Teena had been “resettled” to an unknown destination by Polish and Ukraine soldiers, then that Mama died. The rest of Helena’s life was spent seeking Teena.

In 2023, Helena’s great-granddaughter, McKenna, accompanied by her best friend, Taylor, went to Poland. McKenna took a sabbatical after her life overturned. She wanted to learn more about her family, as her great-grandparents moved to America after the war. McKenna’s Baba (grandmother) said Helena, her mother, would never talk about their life in Europe. On her deathbed, Helena told Baba that she had a sister in Europe. Baba asked McKenna to see what she could find about her sister. McKenna and Taylor worked with a professional genealogist. McKenna’s family history and surprises would change her life.

Results of the research, traveling, and writing of this remarkable novel were personally meaningful to its gifted author, as readers will discover. I am beyond impressed by this novel and the spiritual and life journeys of Helena, McKenna, and others. This novel is, to me, well worth re-reading. Each change of narrator, either Helena or McKenna, begins with verse(s) from the Song of Lemkovyna that were profoundly moving. I highly recommend this novel to those who appreciate Christian WWII historical fiction, Poland then and now, family, and spiritual growth.

From a thankful heart: I received a prepublication copy of this novel from Celebrate Lit through NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my honest review.