If I Were You

 If I Were You by Lynn Austin 464 pages

Lynn Austin is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Granted, this is only the second
book of hers that I have read, but both stories have swept me away.

“If I Were You” is set in London between 1931 and 1946 and the USA in 1950. Growing up Eve
Dawson and Audrey Clarkson are best friends although they are from very different stations in
life. Audrey is part of the aristocracy. Eve is a scullery maid, and her mother serves of a lady’s
maid to Audrey’s mother.

The drift apart as they blossom into young women and begin to fulfill their destinies. They
reunite in London, eventually becoming roommates and ultimately ambulance drivers. Austin
excels with descriptions of the Blitz. Both young women suffer a devastating loss during one
night’s bombing.

Each falls in love with an American soldier. Audrey marries her beau who is then killed while
Eve’s beau returns stateside to his wife and child. Unfortunately, both women are pregnant. But
this only seals their need for each other. Both have sons.

Audry applies to go to the U.S. to be with her in-laws. Her mother is dead, her father is not who
she thinks he is, and Eve is the only friend/family Audrey has left. When her papers arrive, she
throws them in the trash and decides to return to her manot home in the English countryside.
Eve, struggling to raise a baby on her own, picks Audrey’s discarded papers out of the trash and
heads to America. Eve passes as her friend, only until Audrey, who has a change of heart, shows
up on her in-laws doorstep.

I found “If I Were You,” riveting and could not turn the pages fast enough. There were several
other gasp-worthy incidents that cemented this novel getting “If I Were You” getting 6 out of 5
stars in Julie’s world.

Just Once

Just Once by Karen Kingsbury 336 pages

 

Until three years ago, Audra Mitchell did not know her grandmother’s deepest secret. Why would she? Members of the Greatest Generation did like to talk about their service in beating the Axis Powers. Three years ago, Audra and her husband, Tom, were re-modeling her grandparents’ home when they found an old wooden box. Inside, they learned Grandma Irvel’s secret” she was a SPY!

 

The story jumps to 2018, as they learn about Irvel’s medical problems. That sets up the plot nicely for it to jump back in time to December 5, 1941. Irvel is in love with her best friend, Hank, although she is dating his brother, Sam.

 

It’s been a little while since I read Just Once, and I don’t remember the sequence of everything that happened. Sam is drafted and heads to Europe. Irvel is recruited by the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, forerunner to today’s CIA). Their worse fear comes true. While they are devastated, they must do what their country asks.

 

Have some tissues handy, this is a tearjerker. Just Once gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Long Way Home

Long Way Home by Lynn Austin 400 pages

 

This is a story of the Greatest Generation---both on the war front and the home front. Most of the men who fought never talked about their experiences. Through a dual narrative, we get to explore how two men suffered from battle fatigue, or as we know it, PTSD and one woman’s fight to stay alive and find her love.

 

Hudson Valley, New York. Jimmy Barnett is not the same person he was when he came home from the Europe theater. Before, he was outgoing, funny, handsome and had plans to be a veterinary like his father. Now, in 1946, he just sits on his bed and stares out the window. No one seems to be able to help him find his way back home. When he attempts suicide, his parents check him into the nearest VA hospital, an hours away where they can only visit him once a week.

 

Motherless Peggy Serrano lives across the road. Her father is a mechanic and doesn’t pay much attention to her, especially since he has a new live-in girlfriend, Donna. Peggy helps Mr. Bennett in his practice and has a special touch. She is so excited when Jimmy comes home, but so sad when the old Jimmy is gone.

 

All three think the arrival of an old Army buddy, Sam, will help bring Jimmy around. But the physically wounded Sam may as well be invisible. However, Sam finds comfort in the Serrano and Bennett families. He shows up, and when his own battle fatigue gets too much, he takes off on his motorcycle.

 

At the VA hospital, Jimmy goes through some awful treatments, like an insulin coma and electric shock therapy. Then Peggy gets an idea: maybe if she could find more of Jimmy’s Army pals, knowing how much Jimmy helped them (he was a medic), that might bring him around. As Peggy is rooting around in Jimmy’s duffel bag, looking for clues, she discovers a picture of a beautiful woman with only the name Gisela written on the back. Could she be the key to unlocking Jimmy’s mind?

 

Berlin, Germany, 1938. Gisela Wolff and her family know it is time to leave Germany. Her father has worked hard to obtain the visas and passports that will allow her family to flee the Nazis. They board the luxury liner, SS St. Louis, and head for Cuba. Cuba denies the 900 Jewish passengers’ entry. The ship then tries to enter America, but again they are turned away (true story) and sent back to Europe.

 

One bright light in Gisela’s light is the young man she meets about the boat, Sam Shaprio. The two quickly fall deeply in love. They are separated and Gisela must make her way through the war. She ultimately winds up in one of the concentration camps.

 

Don’t want any spoilers, so I better stop now. However, grab your hankies, ‘cause when Jimmy and Gisela’s stories converge, you’re gonna need them.

 

Long Way Home gets 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.