Remember the Stars
Page 28
Lila and Kate scoot in, and the four of us take up the whole stone bench.
“Mom’s story will live on forever because of our family,” Lila says, resting her palm on my leg. “Now, you can pass it on to your kids and grandkids.”
“We have to make sure that people don’t forget about the Holocaust,” Kate says.
“I can’t wait to share Mum’s story with all of them. I’m so thankful to your father for giving her such a rich life,” I say, looking each of my sisters in her eyes so that they know I’m sincere. “I only wish I could’ve met Oren, too. Of course, my heart breaks that I didn’t get to reunite with Mum.”
“She would be so proud of you, Lennon,” Ani says.
“She would be tickled to see us all here together.” Kate sighs.
“You know… Mame’s dream wasn’t solely about you and her reuniting. She also wanted us to be close and know each other. I’m grateful that at least part of her wish was granted today,” Ani says.
While my sisters continue talking about our mum, something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. My gaze flickers to the back porch, Auntie Oma looks on, a grin spreads from ear to ear. I sense that she witnesses my mum’s dream coming true, and the effect this has on her resonates deep in my soul. Tears shimmer in the corners of her eyes and glisten on her wrinkled cheeks.
I think of how close both my mum and Oma came to losing their lives and legacy to useless terror. My heart weeps for those who didn’t survive and for the stories we’ll never know. I pray history will never repeat itself. Even though I know we live in a world filled with hate, there is still an abundance of love. If there’s any proof of this, it’s the family I’m now honored to call my own.
The End
Acknowledgement
First, we must thank our neighbor, Mike, for sharing old photographs and an antique book with a mysterious woman’s name handwritten in it. Without him sharing those treasures with us, the idea of Remember the Stars never would have came to light. No matter where you are, we hope you are honored by this book.
We want to thank our readers for their patience in enduring thirteen years of “coming soon” talk. We also want to thank those who BETA read for us (even if it was only a few chapters): Sharon Grages, Sarah Rutledge, LaDonna Pigg, Gina Morgan Moody, Heather Anne, Alea Bell, and Anna Baxter.
There aren’t adequate words to thank someone who puts as much of herself into our book as she does her own. Not only does author Angie Martin own the editing company, By the Hand Editing, that helped us prepare Remember the Stars for the world, but Angie spent countless years and hours helping us hone our story and writing. She’s been a true friend to both of us through the process of writing and publishing Remember the Stars. We love you, Angie.
Thank you to Melanie Rouse for the first, very thorough edits of the book and your priceless feedback.
To Amanda Walker, who always transforms my crazy ideas into amazing covers, thank you. This one was different from all the others, and you knew that. You knew how special it had to be. Your vision for our cover was something neither of us imagined and both of us adore and will cherish forever. We can’t wait to see what you come up with for our next book!
Sweet Paige, thank you for helping us promote this book and understanding the importance that brings. Thank you for reading it and sharing the emotions it put you through. Your words reassured us of the confidence we have in this book. We should celebrate with Kentucky Butter Cake!
Nikki Pearce, Lainey Da Silva, Gina Morgan Moody, and Serena Worker, you’ve all spent hours over the years sharing Remember the Stars with the book world, and we can’t thank you enough for your unwavering support.
We’d like to thank the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for not only having a credible website for which we were able to gather facts but for answering our research questions as well.
It’s taken us thirteen years to conceive, write, edit and publish Remember the Stars, and there’s been many who have helped us bring this book to life. Be it big or small along the way, thank you to each and every one of you. Of course, we can’t have an acknowledgments section without thanking our friends and family for their support as well.
About the Authors
Carraine Oldham is a first-time author who discovered her talent and joy for writing as a teenager. While she kept her writing to herself, over the years she penned short stories in a journal that she only shared with Marisa. Carraine embarked on writing her first novel after pitching the idea for Remember the Stars to her sister and published author, Marisa Oldham. After thirteen-years of research, life-altering changes, and surviving tragedy, Carraine’s poetic writing has captured the hearts of her readers.
Carraine lives in a small Tennessee town with her sister Marisa and the love of her life, a six-pound Yorkshire Terrier mix, Winnie. When she’s not writing, Carraine enjoys travel, singing, crafting, and relaxing on the couch with Winnie and her favorite TV shows.
Marisa Oldham is an Amazon bestselling author of the popular The Falling Series - The Falling of Love, The Falling of Grace, and The Falling of Hope. A passionate writer with immense depth, Marisa published a highly emotional spinoff of the series, Learning to Breathe, that connected her readers with her by sharing her personal experiences in a fictional manner. In a short story collection, After We Fell, that follows Learning to Breathe, Marisa continued to dive into the trials and tribulations of her characters’ lives with Falling in Paris, Falling Apart, and Falling Forever. Marisa has also contributed to anthologies and has many works in progress.
Marisa lives in a small town in Tennessee with her sister Carraine and her adorable Yorkshire Terrier mix, Winnie. Outside of writing, Marisa enjoys photography, travel, reality TV, horror movies, and crafting. One of Marisa’s favorite aspects of being a writer is connecting with her readers. You may reach Marisa via social media or email.
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