MY MOTHER'S SECRET

A novel based on the true story of a Polish woman and her daughter who took in two different Jewish families and one German soldier who deserted the Nazi army during World War II. The refugees all hide in the same house—one Jewish family in the pigsty, the other Jewish family in the cellar, and the German soldier in the attic—and they don’t know the others are there. It’s told in four parts from the points of view of the Polish daughter, one young Jewish father, a Jewish son in the other family, and the soldier.

Franciszka and her daughter are unlikely heroines. They are simple people who don't stand out… that is, until there is a crisis. In 1939, the Nazis come to Poland and start to persecute the Jews. These are unreasonable times when providing shelter to a Jew has become a death sentence. Despite this, both Franciszka and her daughter hide Jewish families and a German soldier in their small home. For all of them to survive, she will have to outsmart the German commander and her neighbors.

J.L. Witterick always wanted to write a book that would make a difference. She found inspiration to do so based on a true story of courage that occurred during the Holocaust. A child of poor immigrants, she learned empathy, compassion and kindness first hand and wrote it into this story. Now an accomplished investment professional, she has decided to donate proceeds of the book sold at Indigo/Chapters to the Love of Reading Foundation, which buys books for children who cannot afford them. She remembers buying used books from the Salvation Army for 5 and 10 cents when she was a child. J.L. Witterick lives in Canada.