Grim, beautiful, gut-wrenching, incredibly courageous.

Because I am hypersensitive these days, I soon realized I could not read this at bedtime... too vivid and powerful. Which is usually a good thing, but not when most of the story is so painful.

There were a few details about how things would have worked in those circumstances that I had questions about, since the realism was almost its own character. But that's just me quibbling. It's a most moving read, VERY hard to put down, and 99% rang true.

I am SO thankful that this history was illuminated. And it certainly shifts one's perspective about what matters most in this life.