Courage, Persistence, and the Strength to Survive

This is a story about nine incredibly courageous women that you will not soon forget. Despite every harrowing obstacle and predicament these young women held tight to the bonds of their friendship and their will to survive. They supported, protected, and encouraged one another throughout every single adversity. "The Nine" brings to life, with vivid detail, all that Helene, Lon, Jacky, Josee, Mena, Zinka, Zaza, Nicole, and Guigui endured during World War II and in the years after. Thank you to author, Gwen Strauss, and all who contributed to this book and to the preservation of countless other survivors' stories. While I fully understand the reluctance that many survivors felt in sharing their stories, it breaks my heart that more oftentimes than not it was more than likely a matter of not feeling as though they were permitted to recount the horrors of the past. My Memere was born in the same generation (1923) and was of the mindset that unpleasant memories were best left in the past and not repeated. In so doing the floodgates of complicity might have been more than those around them (such as their fellow countrymen) could handle. Instead silence was preferred to verbal testimony and reanimation of the atrocities endured. Unfortunately, that attempt at smothering the past undoubtedly added to the trauma of the survivors as well as their children. Humanity tends to continue this pattern and needs to learn to heal these hurts while also preserving the past in order to learn from it. Let us never repeat such a horrific chapter in human history again. For the sake of those who were lost, those who survived, and for our children - and theirs - let us learn from the past and grow towards a far more peaceful future. I am in awe of these remarkable ladies and wish that such tragedies had never transpired. Let us hope and work toward a far brighter future.

A special thank you to BookishFirst, St Martin's Press, and Gwen Strauss for providing me with an advanced copy of this amazing story.