Amsterdam, the Netherlands 1940 Herta, and her family, Jewish refugees, are living contentedly until the Nazi invasion, which echoes the persecution and fear they experienced before fleeing Germany. Across town, another wife and mother, Julia, also faces upheaval when her husband becomes more involved in the Nazis' effort in controlling the world.
When their husbands go missing, one accused falsely of crimes and the other to fight on behalf of the Nazis, Herta, despite the heartache, takes charge and places her daughters into hiding believing they'll keep safe. Meanwhile, Julia, as the only parent home, chooses to redefine family. These unexpected developments bring Herta and Julia together... until their true identities surface and they're thrown into dangerous consequences that could harm not only them but their daughters.
Following We Shall Not Shatter, Book 1 of the Resilient Women of WWII Trilogy, this story of friendship questions whether two mothers, acting to ensure their children's future, can put aside the issues of faith and heritage that could bring the Nazis right to their doorstep.
Show moreAmsterdam, the Netherlands 1940 Herta, and her family, Jewish refugees, are living contentedly until the Nazi invasion, which echoes the persecution and fear they experienced before fleeing Germany. Across town, another wife and mother, Julia, also faces upheaval when her husband becomes more involved in the Nazis' effort in controlling the world.
When their husbands go missing, one accused falsely of crimes and the other to fight on behalf of the Nazis, Herta, despite the heartache, takes charge and places her daughters into hiding believing they'll keep safe. Meanwhile, Julia, as the only parent home, chooses to redefine family. These unexpected developments bring Herta and Julia together... until their true identities surface and they're thrown into dangerous consequences that could harm not only them but their daughters.
Following We Shall Not Shatter, Book 1 of the Resilient Women of WWII Trilogy, this story of friendship questions whether two mothers, acting to ensure their children's future, can put aside the issues of faith and heritage that could bring the Nazis right to their doorstep.
Show moreAuthor’s Note Prologue Chapters 1 - 37 About the Author Readers Groups Discussion Guide Acknowledgments Amsterdam Publishers Holocaust Library
Elaine Stock writes Historical Fiction, exploring home, family and
friendships throughout time. She enjoys creating stories showing
how all faiths, races, and belief systems are interconnected and
need each other.
Inspired by her paternal heritage from Brzeziny Poland, Elaine
wrote We Shall Not Shatter, Book 1 of the Resilient Women
of WWII Trilogy. The novel has earned the Historical Fiction
Company 5-star and “Highly Recommended” Review and won the Finalist
Award in the Historical WWI-WWII category of the Historical Fiction
Company 2021 Contest. Book 2, Our Daughters’ Last Hope,
features what becomes of Herta, a character from Book 1, and her
family, in Amsterdam. Book 3, When We Disappeared, is the
story about Herta’s daughter within Nazi Germany. The audiobook for
all three books of the Trilogy will be produced by Tantor
Media.
Although multi-published in award-winning Inspirational
Fiction, and a past blogger and online magazine contributor, Elaine
now pens novels for the general reading audience. She is a
member of Women’s Fiction Writers Association and The Historical
Novel Society. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she has been living in
upstate, rural New York with her husband for more years than her
stint as a city gal. She enjoys long walks down country roads,
visiting New England towns, and of course, a good book.
Deeply thought-provoking. The author follows the lives of two very different mothers who live in the Netherlands during WWII. As the war presses in around them, their relationship with each other evolves from distrust to a true sisterhood that will enable them to survive and even help others during a truly horrifying time in history. — Caroline Crocker, PhD, co-author of Overcoming the Jackboot, the true story of an indomitable half-German child who survived the Nazi occupation—and learned to be truly brave. * * * Our Daughters' Last Hope focuses on the experiences of two women, Herta and Julia, following the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam in 1940. A visceral, terrifying blend of fear and hope, violence and solidarity swirls as the two face disappearances - and sometimes unwelcome reappearances - of loved ones, growing repression, increasingly grim living conditions and the constant threat of denunciation or death. Stock raises fundamental questions: how far can you trust your friends, or family? What should you do if duty conflicts with what seems right? What if survival means breaking taboos? And what would you do if Nazis took over your country? Like her earlier work in the "Resilient Women of WW2" series, the story draws on solid chunks of research as well as a rich vein of imagination to examine the fate of ordinary women driven to extraordinary feats by awful circumstances. Worth a look if you like historical fiction. — Leigh Turner, author of Palladium and Blood Summit * * * Elaine Stock’s “old world” voice immerses us in the poignant stories of two women who plumb depths of amazing resiliency and revise the concept of family to survive and protect their children during the unspeakable ravages of the Holocaust. Such deeply personal novels connect and remind us we must never forget these horrors. — Sandra L. Young, author of Divine Vintage * * * Beautifully written. Touching. Poignant. Elaine Stock's second instalment in her trilogy Resilient Women of WWII, Our Daughters’ Last Hope shines with real emotion. Grounded in the relationships between friends and the love and determination of a mother to protect her child, Stock leads us through her tale at pace, never losing the meaning behind her story. Her characters are depicted with raw honesty, drawing us in; we become truly invested in their journeys from the first page. It is historical fiction that honours the strength of people of the past as they faced unimaginable horror, seeking to continue the memories so we never forget. A story that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. — Lelita Baldock. Author of Widow’s Lace, The Unsound Sister and Where the Gulls Fall Silent.
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