The Things We Cannot Say: A heart-breaking, inspiring novel of hope and a love to defy all odds in World War Two

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A masterful piece is what The Things We Cannot Say novel is. It depicts the horrors of war, the fear, the famish, and so much death but also the bravery and the courage humanity can have during the worst of times.

Straddling the past and the present, The Things We Cannot Say is a mesmerizing tale of family, memory, forgiveness, and unconditional love, but it is also about retrieving lost stories.Side note, as I had to mention this pet peeve of mine that really bothered me in the novel: it’s “dzień dobry” not “jen dobry”. I know that is not a big issue on the grand scale of things, but for accuracy’s sake the correct spelling of the Polish word should really be used.) There was nothing to bury, no body to conduct a service over. Instead, we heard that he was gone, and that was that… Nothing had changed, except that nothing was the same anymore, because once I had two brothers, and now I had one… Our oppression was loss without reason, and pain without a purpose. In the present day, eighty five year old Hannah is dying. She's having strokes, is in the hospital, and will probably never leave alive. Despite the fact that she can't communicate verbally, she has something she wants her granddaughter, Alice, to do for her. Alice, who is in a daily struggle to meet the needs of her son Eddie, seven years old, nonverbal, and on the autism spectrum. Eddie's means of communication becomes a way for Hannah to communicate her wishes with Alice and soon, Alice knows that Hannah has something very important for her to do.

Kelly Rimmer has raised the already-high bar with this unforgettable novel, THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY. Alina and Tomasz's story is one of bravery, resilience, and the lengths we will go to for the ones we love. Fans of Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah now have a new go-to author' Sally Hepworth, author of THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES As farmers, Alina and her family live a hard yet comfortable life until the invasion. When the Nazis invade, everything changes drastically. After reading this book, one cannot help but compare the terrible invasion of Poland in 1939 with the senseless invasion taking place in Ukraine today. Perhaps that is why Poland is so ready to assist the refugees pouring into its country today, because the memory of what happened so long ago is still in everyone's mind.I absolutely loved this book. The characters were multi-layered and so imperfect that they seemed real. We follow Alice, who struggles with a young son with Asperger's Syndrome, a prodigy daughter and a work-addicted husband as she travels to Poland and begins to uncover a heartbreaking story that will touch her family in more ways than one. I braced myself for the ugly cry I knew was coming and I wasn't wrong. It made me feel so many emotions. 😢