The Darkest Canyon

by Roberta Kagan

  “Is it a real canyon? Where is it? I can’t see it.”

  Gretchen was pulled back into the present moment by Anatol’s question. “It’s not a real canyon that you can see. It’s a deep crack like a wound in the fabric of humanity.”

  “I don’t I understand what you’re talking about, Auntie Gretchen.”

  “I know,” Gretchen said. “It’s very complicated.”

  “Are we doomed? Can we fix the hole?”

  “I believe we can,” she said.

  “But how? How do we fill a big hole like that?”

  “With one pebble at a time, Anatol.” She touched his hair.

  There was a knock at the door. Anatol sat up. He looked worried. He’s been through so much. It is such a shame that a knock on the door can spark such terror in the eyes of a child so young, Gretchen thought. Then she smiled at him trying to reassure him. “It’s all right. I am going to see who is there,” she said, walking to the door. She too was worried about who might be at the door. After all, once the Russians had marched into Berlin, it had become very unsafe for German women. Terrible things had happened to Gretchen at the hands of those Russian soldiers. Things she would never tell Anatol.

  She took a deep breath, glanced back at Anatol for a single moment. Then she opened the door.

  “Rebecca?”

  Coming Soon: A Million Pebbles Book Three In This Series

  AUTHORS NOTE

  First and foremost, I want to thank you for reading my novel and for your continued interest in my work. From time to time, I receive emails from my readers that contest the accuracy of my events. When you pick up a novel, you are entering the author’s world where we sometimes take artistic license and ask you to suspend your disbelief. I always try to keep as true to history as possible; however, sometimes there are discrepancies within my novels. This happens sometimes to keep the drama of the story. Thank you for indulging me.

  I always enjoy hearing from my readers. Your feelings about my work are very important to me. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review on Amazon. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend.

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  Many blessings to you,

  Roberta

  Email: roberta@robertakagan.com

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  MORE BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

  AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

  All My Love, Detrick

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  Book One in the All My Love, Detrick Series

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  Detrick, a handsome seventeen-year-old Aryan boy is reluctant to join the Nazi party because of his friendship with Jacob, who is Jewish and has been like a father figure to him. However he learns that in order to protect the woman he loves, Jacob’s daughter, he must abandon all his principles and join the Nazis. He knows the only way to survive is to live a double life. Detrick is confronted with fear every day; if he is discovered, he and those he loves will come face to face with the ultimate cruelty of the Third Reich.

  Follow two families, one Jewish and one German, as they are thrust into a world of danger on the eve of the Nazis rise to power.

  You Are My Sunshine

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  A child’s innocence is the purest of all.

  In Nazi Germany, Helga Haswell is at a crossroads. She’s pregnant by a married SS officer who has since abandoned her. Left alone with the thought of raising a fatherless child, she has nowhere to turn -- until the Lebensborn steps in. They will take Helga’s child when it’s born and raise it as their own. Helga will now be free to live her life.

  But when Helga has second thoughts, it’s already too late. The papers are signed, and her claim to her child has been revoked. Her daughter belongs to Hitler now. And when Hitler’s delusions of grandeur rapidly accelerate, Germany becomes involved in a two-front war against the heroic West and the fearless Russians.

  Helga’s child seems doomed to a life raised by the cruelest humans on Earth. But God’s plan for her sends the young girl to the most unexpected people. In their warm embrace, she’s given the chance for love in a world full of hate.

  You Are My Sunshine is the heartfelt story of second chances. Helga Haswell may be tied to an unthinkable past, but her young daughter has the chance of a brighter future.

  The Promised Land:

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  Zofia Weiss, a Jewish woman with a painful past, stands at the dock, holding the hand of a little girl. She is about to board The SS Exodus, bound for Palestine with only her life, a dream, and a terrifying secret. As her eyes scan the crowds of people, she sees a familiar face. Her heart pounds and beads of sweat form on her forehead…

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  To Be An Israeli

  Book Four in the All My Love, Detrick series.

  Elan understands what it means to be an Israeli. He’s sacrificed the woman he loved, his marriage, and his life for Israel. When Israel went to war and Elan was summoned in the middle of the night, he did not hesitate to defend his country, even though he knew he might pay a terrible price. Elan is not a perfect man by any means. He can be cruel. He can be stubborn and self-righteous. But he is brave, and he loves more deeply than he will ever admit.

  This is his story.

  However, it is not only his story; it is also the story of the lives of the women who loved him: Katja, the girl whom he cherished but could never marry, who would haunt him forever. Janice, the spoiled American he wed to fill a void, who would keep a secret from him that would one day shatter his world. And…Nina, the beautiful Mossad agent whom Elan longed to protect but knew he never could.

  To Be an Israeli spans from the beginning of the Six-Day War in 1967 through 1986 when a group of American tourists are on their way to visit their Jewish homeland.

  Forever My Homeland

  The Fifth and final book in the All My Love, Detrick series.

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  Meanwhile, beneath the surface in Israel, trouble is stirring with a group of radical Islamists.

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  Forever, My Homeland is the story of a country built on blood and determination. It is the tale of a strong and courageous people who don’t have the luxury of backing down from any fight, because they live with the constant memory of the Holocaust. In the back of their minds, there is always a soft voice that whispers “Never again.”

 
Michal’s Destiny

  Book One in the Michal’s Destiny series.

  It is 1919 in Siberia. Michal—a young, sheltered girl—has eyes for a man other than her betrothed. For a young girl growing up in a traditional Jewish settlement, an arranged marriage is a fact of life. However, destiny, it seems, has other plans for Michal. When a Cossack pogrom invades her small village, the protected life Michal has grown accustomed to and loves will crumble before her eyes. Everything she knows is gone and she is forced to leave her home and embark on a journey to Berlin with the man she thought she wanted.

  Michal faces love, loss, and heartache because she is harboring a secret that threatens to destroy her every attempt at happiness. But over the next fourteen tumultuous years, during the peak of the Weimar Republic, she learns she is willing to do anything to have the love she longs for and to protect her family.

  However, it is now 1933. Life in Berlin is changing, especially for the Jews. Dark storm clouds are looming on the horizon. Adolf Hitler is about to become the chancellor of Germany, and that will change everything for Michal forever.

  A Family Shattered

  Book Two in the Michal’s Destiny series.

  In book two of the Michal’s Destiny series, Tavvi and Michal have problems in the beginning of their relationship, but they build a life together. Each stone is laid carefully with love and mutual understanding. They now have a family with two beautiful daughters and a home full of happiness.

  It is now 1938—Kristallnacht. Blood runs like a river on the streets, shattered glass covers the walkways of Jewish shop owners, and gangs of Nazi thugs charge though Berlin in a murderous rage. When Tavvi, the strong-willed Jewish carpenter, races outside, without thinking of his own welfare, to save his daughters fiancée, little does his wife Michal know that she might never hold him in her arms again. In an instant, all the stones they laid together come crashing down leaving them with nothing but the hope of finding each other again.

  Watch Over My Child

  Book Three in the Michal’s Destiny series.

  In book three of the Michal’s Destiny series, after her parents are arrested by the Nazis on Kristallnacht, twelve-year-old Gilde Margolis is sent away from her home, her sister, and everyone she knows and loves.

  Alone and afraid, Gilde boards a train through the Kinder-transport bound for London, where she will stay with strangers. Over the next seven years as Gilde is coming of age, she learns about love, friendship, heartache, and the pain of betrayal. As the Nazis grow in power, London is thrust into a brutal war against Hitler. Severe rationing is imposed upon the British, while air raids instill terror, and bombs all but destroy the city. Against all odds, and with no knowledge of what has happened to her family in Germany, Gilde keeps a tiny flicker of hope buried deep in her heart: someday, she will be reunited with her loved ones.

  Another Breath, Another Sunrise

  Book Four, the final book in the Michal’s Destiny series.

  Now that the Reich has fallen, in this—the final book of the Michal’s Destiny series—the reader follows the survivors as they find themselves searching to reconnect with those they love. However, they are no longer the people they were before the war.

  While the Russian soldiers, who are angry with the German people and ready to pillage, beat, and rape, begin to invade what’s left of Berlin, Lotti is alone and fears for her life.

  Though Alina Margolis has broken every tradition to become a successful business woman in America, she fears what has happened to her family and loved ones across the Atlantic Ocean.

  As the curtain pulls back on Gilde, a now successful actress in London, she realizes that all that glitters is not gold, and she longs to find the lost family the Nazi’s had stolen from her many years ago.

  This is a story of ordinary people whose lives were shattered by the terrifying ambitions of Adolf Hitler—a true madman.

  And . . . Who Is The Real Mother?

  Book One in the Eidel’s Story series.

  In the Bible, there is a story about King Solomon, who was said to be the wisest man of all time. The story goes like this:

  Two women came to the king for advice. Both of them were claiming to be the mother of a child. The king took the child in his arms and said, “I see that both of you care for this child very much. So, rather than decide which of you is the real mother, I will cut the child in half and give each of you a half.”

  One of the women agreed to the king’s decision, but the other cried out, “NO, give the child to that other woman. Don’t hurt my baby.”

  “Ahh,” said the king to the second woman who refused to cut the baby. “I will give the child to you, because the real mother would sacrifice anything for her child. She would even give her baby away to another woman if it meant sparing the baby from pain.”

  And so, King Solomon gave the child to his rightful mother.

  The year is 1941. The place is the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland.

  The ghetto is riddled with disease and starvation. Children are dying every day.

  Zofia Weiss, a young mother, must find a way to save, Eidel her only child. She negotiates a deal with a man on the black market to smuggle Eidel out in the middle of the night and deliver her to Helen, a Polish woman who is a good friend of Zofia’s. It is the ultimate sacrifice because there is a good chance that Zofia will die without ever seeing her precious child again.

  Helen has a life of her own, a husband and a son. She takes Eidel to live with her family even though she and those she loves will face terrible danger every day. Helen will be forced to do unimaginable things to protect all that she holds dear. And as Eidel grows up in Helen’s warm maternal embrace, Helen finds that she has come to love the little girl with all her heart.

  So, when Zofia returns to claim her child, and King Solomon is not available to be consulted, it is the reader who must decide…

  Who is the real mother?

  Secrets Revealed

  Book Two in the Eidel’s Story series.

  Hitler has surrendered. The Nazi flags, which once hung throughout the city striking terror in the hearts of Polish citizens, have been torn down. It seems that Warsaw should be rejoicing in its newly found freedom, but Warsaw is not free. Instead, it is occupied by the Soviet Union, held tight in Stalin’s iron grip. Communist soldiers, in uniform, now control the city. Where once people feared the dreaded swastika, now they tremble at the sight of the hammer and sickle. It is a treacherous time. And in the midst of all this danger, Ela Dobinski, a girl with a secret that could change her life, is coming of age.

  New Life, New Land

  Book Three in the Eidel’s Story series.

  When Jewish Holocaust survivors Eidel and Dovid Levi arrive in the United States, they believe that their struggles are finally over. Both have suffered greatly under the Nazi reign and are ready to leave the past behind. They arrive in this new and different land filled with optimism for their future. However, acclimating into a new way of life can be challenging for immigrants. And, not only are they immigrants but they are Jewish. Although Jews are not being murdered in the United States, as they were under Hitler in Europe, the Levi’s will learn that America is not without anti-Semitism. Still, they go forth, with unfathomable courage. In New Life, New Land, this young couple will face the trials and tribulations of becoming Americans and building a home for themselves and their children that will follow them.

  Another Generation

  Book Four in the Eidel’s Story series.

  In the final book in the Eidel's Story series the children of Holocaust survivors Eidel and Dovid Levi have grown to adulthood. They each face hard trials and tribulations of their own, many of which stem from growing up as children of Holocaust survivors. Haley is a peacemaker who yearns to please even at the expense of her own happiness. Abby is an angry rebel on the road to self-destruction. And, Mark, Dovid’s only son, carries a heavy burden of guilt and secrets. He wants to please his father, but he cannot. Each of the Levi ch
ildren must find a way to navigate their world while accepting that the lessons they have learned from the parents, both good and bad, have shaped them into the people they are destined to become.

  The Smallest Crack

  Book One in a Holocaust Story series.

  1933 Berlin, Germany

  The son of a rebbe, Eli Kaetzel, and his beautiful but timid wife, Rebecca, find themselves in danger as Hitler rises to power. Eli knows that their only chance for survival may lie in the hands of Gretchen, a spirited Aryan girl. However, the forbidden and dangerous friendship between Eli and Gretchen has been a secret until now. Because, for Eli, if it is discovered that he has been keeping company with a woman other than his wife it will bring shame to him and his family. For Gretchen her friendship with a Jew is forbidden by law and could cost her, her life.

  The Darkest Canyon

  Book Two in a Holocaust Story series.

  Nazi Germany.

  Gretchen Schmidt has a secret life. She is in love with a married Jewish man. She is hiding him while his wife is posing as an Aryan woman.

  Her best friend, Hilde, who unbeknownst to Gretchen is a sociopath, is working as a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp.

  If Hilde discovers Gretchen’s secret, will their friendship be strong enough to keep Gretchen safe? Or will Hilde fall under the spell of the Nazis and turn her best friend over to the Gestapo?

  The Darkest Canyon is a terrifying ride along the edge of a canyon in the dark of night.

  Millions Of Pebbles

  Book Three in a Holocaust Story series.

  Available Winter 2019/2020

  Benjamin Rabinowitz’s life is shattered as he watches his wife, Lila, and his son, Moishe, leave to escape the Lodz ghetto. He is conflicted because he knows this is their best chance of survival, but he asks himself, will he ever see them again?

  Ilsa Guhr has a troubled childhood, but as she comes of age, she learns that her beauty and sexuality give her the power to get what she wants. But she craves an even greater power. As the Nazis take control of Germany, she sees an opportunity to gain everything she’s ever desired.