The Promise

 Three Sisters by Heather Morris is a powerful true story of survival during a time of great evil. It is a book that will horrify you as you witness the cruelty towards the Jewish people. It is a book that will inspire you as you observe the bonds of love between the three sisters. It is a book that needs to be read in memory of the six million innocents who perished.

Much of the book is set in Auschwitz and other camps, some is in the girls’ home in Slovakia and the book ends in Israel. The reader sees that “to survive one must remain invisible.”

Auschwitz was a place of unbelievable horrors. The three sisters each had the desire to survive in order to help each other and to fulfill a promise made to their father in 1929. “We Meller girls must stay strong and carry hope in our hearts.” They carried love too.

The camps tested a person’s faith. Some clung on to God. Others questioned. “We needed God in those camps, and where was He?” God walked beside them in the pits of hell but His presence could not always be felt. Our feelings are unreliable. God was there with His children.

People did what they had to in order to survive. “She has chosen to survive, so don’t ever judge her.” Heather Morris vividly describes the horrendous conditions, cruelty and torture of the innocents. Pictures have been planted in my brain through her words that are now impossible to ‘unsee.’

The reader travels from homes to the camps. Heather Morris describes the death marches, the return home and the new life in Israel. Each presents different challenges. Life after World War II sees survivors plagued with guilt and tormented in dreams.

Three Sisters is such a powerful read. And it is a hopeful read – love triumphs over evil. Three Sisters must be read in order to keep alive the memory of the six million innocents.

Thank you Heather Morris for sharing the sisters’ story and preserving memories. We owe it to those who perished and to those who survived to tell their stories.

I loved the fact that when the book had ended, there was a section where the reader heard about what happened to each of the characters. Three Sisters is crying out to be read.

I received a free copy from the publishers via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

JULIA WILSON