When Courage Comes

A World at War. Two Siblings Separated by 6,000 Miles. The Enemy Soldier Who Changes Their Lives Forever

By: Paul M. Fleming

Narrated by: Julian Blake

It’s 1943 in Huntsville, Texas. Stephan, a German army conscript, is imprisoned in one of the first POW camps hastily built in America. The hostile community opposes the enemy on American soil, but Stephan’s greatest threat lurks inside the camp, where Nazis demand his loyalty to a cause he despises.

Stephan arrives in Huntsville after his surrender in North Africa where he saves the life of his American interrogator Captain Ralph Bauer. After parting ways, a shaken Ralph discovers a family heirloom that belongs to the prisoner. Obsessed with finding Stephan and returning the keepsake puts Ralph on a collision course for Huntsville, where Stephan begins work on a cotton farm, striking up a relationship with Rose - who is Ralph’s sister.

Neither Rose nor Stephan are aware of the other’s connection to Ralph. They soon risk the unthinkable in this tense and deeply moving story about a part of World War II few have discovered. When Courage Comes explodes against this rare backdrop, blurs the line between sworn enemies, and delivers hope in the midst of hypocrisy.

©2020 Paul M. Fleming (P)2021 Paul M. Fleming

Unexplored History!

A wonderful read. A history that the books of my academic years didn’t seem to explain. Loved the exploration of the WWII era cultures. Always enjoy a touch of romance to make the horrors of war more palatable. Ready for the sequel!

The different voices

There is absolutely nothing that I would change. It was perfectly written. I throughly enjoyed it

A fascinating story about lost history

World War II novels are more plentiful than mosquitos in summer, but not many deal with life on the American home front, and this is the first I've ever encountered set in and around a Texas prisoner of war camp. To be honest, I didn't even realize such things existed, although my husband, who is older than I am, said it was common knowledge. Stephan was the German (Austrian, actually) victim we like to think was the norm under the Reich: a young, powerless person just trying to survive and protect his family by not opposing the idiotic cruelty that Hitler imposed. Unfortunately, many of his fellow prisoners of war were Nazi ideologues, determined to continue their fight for domination even behind bars. Stephan's story--from his capture in Northern Africa to the eventual end of the war--is a story of a young man who evolves from victim to hero and never loses touch with what matters most in life: in his case, faith, dignity and honor.
I was fortunate to request and receive a copy of this audiobook from the author, and I'm so glad I got to experience this unique and unforgettable story. I did not love the narration: I found the voice changes made to differentiate inner dialog jarring, especially in the beginning, but it did not detract from my overall satisfaction with the book.