Available Now! The Stolen Twins by Shari J. Ryan

Each release day, I write up a blog post defining the “why” for the reason I wrote this story. I feel it’s important to share where my mind was while writing.

Before I jump in, I’d like to say how incredibly overwhelmed I am by the amazing feedback from early readers, as well as the many wonderful messages I’ve received. Thank you so much to all of you who have continued to support me along my publishing journey. Having you by my side means the world to me.

With that said, I sometimes worry that I’m not being clear enough about my reasons for writing these stories, so I want to share that with you here. 

These stories—many buried, many untold, many too hard to hear—must be shared with the world for remembrance, memorialization, and with a wish that we won’t have to witness so much inhumane cruelty again.

I do struggle through hours of research while writing, ensuring I am adding factual details to each book on behalf of my family members who did and did not survive the Holocaust. Each of these stories I write gives me a sense of purpose, knowing I’m not allowing their atrocities to be forgotten. Being a descendent of survivors and non-survivors has greatly affected my life, not just because I’ve been aware of the harsh truths since a young age, but because I’m a Jewish woman living in a time where anti-Semitism still exists. To me, it’s more important than ever before to continue writing books that provide historical accuracies through the dialogue of fictional characters who represent the people that can no longer share their stories.

Writing The Stolen Twins has been my biggest challenge to date because of the topic regarding human experimentation. This was especially challenging as a mom, knowing Dr. Mengele’s practices affected so many children.

While reading Dr. Mengele’s biography, I had to place the book down many times from feeling sick to my stomach. The facts were extremely difficult to digest, but it was something I needed to do, for myself, and for the accuracy of this story.

I worked hard to handle the topic with care to make sure I was crafting a readable plot as I don’t feel it’s necessary to be gruesome to share the emotions that accompany trauma. There is a set of twins that I spent a lot of time reading about, both who survived Mengele’s torture. Their story inspired me to create a set of twins who experienced a similar journey made up of several other true stories from those who lived through these horrors.

I hope you will take a chance on The Stolen Twins and share the story with others.

If you have questions or feedback on the story, I love hearing from readers. You are welcome to email me at shari@sharijryan.com

Thank you for your continuous support!

Shari

About the Book:

Auschwitz, 1944: “You can’t leave me,” I whisper, my hand trembling as I reach for her cheek. “You can’t. We’re in this life together, always, just you and me.” This utterly heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful World War Two page-turner tells the story of identical twin sisters in Auschwitz. Born minutes apart, Arina and Nora have never left each other’s side—until now…

The cattle car is dark, except for the light filtering through the boarded windows. There are too many of us to count, crushed up against each other. The air is stuffy, carrying the scent of our terror—none of us know what awaits us when this train stops. I cling onto Mama’s hand and Nora, my twin sister, clutches Papa’s.

After what feels like forever, the train stops. We spill out of the carriage, the sun blinding us after being imprisoned in darkness for so long. There are people everywhere, soldiers separating children from their parents, husbands from wives.

We’re in some sort of queue, and a man in a dark-green SS uniform walks by, glancing at everyone he passes. “Twins, twins,” he shouts. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach.

“Right here,” says Mama, hesitation in her voice. “My daughters are twins.” My eyes widen, and Nora trembles. Papa tries to tell Mama to be quiet, but it’s too late.

The Nazi catches sight of us. “Twins,” he says again, pausing to inspect Nora and me. “Yes, you are, aren’t you? You two are going to come along with me.”