Synopsis:
FROM ASHES INTO LIGHT is a transpersonal tale of epic tragedy, spirituality, family, and personal redemption. It is told through three distinct voices: the haunting story of Ruth, a Jewish adolescent during Kristallnacht in World War II Austria, Saqapaya, a stalwart Native American from coastal California during the time of the Spanish conquest, and Friede Mai.
Friede is born during WW II to a Bavarian soldier and an East-Prussian mother. As those around her struggle with the inevitable chaos and paradox of war, young Friede opens her heart to gruesome enemies, at times helping her family members escape atrocities.
With the war behind them, the Mai family immigrates to the US, where Friede, her veteran father, and ex-refugee mother, struggle with reverberations of trauma, suspicion, and prejudice. Upon leaving home, Friede meets her spiritual guide and confidant in her fiancé’s Rabbi, who helps her see that the voices from her past are teachers and the horrors of history also contain beacons of light.
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
From Ashes Into Light by Gudrun Mouw is the most fascinating historical fiction piece readers will find. I couldn’t help but to fall in love with the characters and their journeys as the plot unfolds. Three unique characters are brought together…each one with their survival story. I found this tale absolutely compelling. Never have readers seen a book quite like this one. The culutral aspects and the historical time periods make this a number read for everyone.
Gudrun Mouw is a talented writer whose words come off the pages. Anyone who loves history will find it hard to stop reading this novel. From Ashes Into Light is one story that is both highly entertaining and educational. I loved the different point of views from the characters. That’s what really sets this novel different from most in its genre. Overall, I highly recommend this beautifully told story to readers everywhere.
Urban Book Reviews 