A poignant intergenerational story that champions enduring love in a world often clouded by hate.
Dear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII is the culmination of years of research, correspondence, inquiry, enlightenment, and soul-searching. Written by Laura Elliott, the book is a poignant intergenerational story that champions enduring love in a world often clouded by hate. At the heart of Laura’s real-life family drama is her father, Hans Hasenstab, a man whose extraordinary life could fill volumes. An offhanded comment about a modest family treasure piques Laura’s curiosity, prompting her to uncover stories her father struggled to forget. What begins as a simple question unfolds into a years-long exchange of heartfelt letters that dance across the pages like scenes from a movie. In addition to these excerpts, Laura fills in her dad’s recollections with geographic facts, historical data, and other points of interest. Reconstructing a story spanning more than a century is marked by setbacks, heartbreaks, and triumphs, with some memories being painful, others sweet. Firsthand accounts, a difficult divorce, fragmented memories, courageous travels, and unexpected spiritual awakenings all color Laura’s research and make her an endearing personality. Though Hans’s experiences as a prisoner of war sparked the initial search for clarity, Laura’s dynamic family history is incomplete without the brave foundation of grandparents whose lives never intersected with hers. Their unexpected course, along with rich historical context, personal letters, family photos, and balanced storytelling, immerses readers in a time and place few alive today can truly imagine.
You don’t need a passion for history or spirituality to be swept up in Laura Elliott’s cathartic memoir, Dear Laura. Radiating warmth, honesty, and vulnerability, the book flows through snapshots in time like an intimate conversation between close friends. The structure is fluid rather than linear, and it stays true to each era rather than being confined by modern conventions. As Laura travels to exotic locations that are familiar to many of us only in name, audiences will revel in sumptuous descriptions of the lands and their people. Though more than a century of global upheaval is covered, the prose remains remarkably free from social commentary or political rhetoric, making her discoveries as much an adventure for readers as for her. Hans was the consummate storyteller, and this gift was passed on to his daughter, who regales audiences with a globe-trotting journey whose destination proves to be the journey itself. Early on in the book, Laura writes about her father’s joie de vivre and how it colored everything he did. Whether sharing his love for gardening or humbly accepting an assignment that could be taken as insulting, Hans’s contagious enjoyment of life is evident on every page. Not only is this a man who found light in darkness, but he brought honor to his family and his god. A thought-provoking family memoir, Dear Laura is a beautiful story about being bold enough to confront the past and courageous enough to embrace every new beginning.
