Cathy Gohlke | Eli's Novel Reviews

When you walk into a bookstore, you make a beeline for what section?

Historical fiction first—anything between the Victorian age and WWII, but especially WWII. I love stories of courage, family life and faith set against the backdrop of war. My next stop is the history section and I’m oh-so-tempted by mysteries.

Favorite place to write:

I love writing in my comfy chair by a window.

Go-to writing snack or drink:

I love coffee in the early morning, English Breakfast or Lady Grey Tea in the mid-afternoon, and caffeine-free tea or water at night. If you offered me a cookie or biscotti alongside I’d not turn it down.

What does your writing nook look like?

These days I write wherever I can find time or space. Sometimes that’s in my well-worn comfy chair by the window while grandchildren dance and play around me. Sometimes it’s the most remote corner of a local coffee shop where I can tune out everything except the voices of my characters, or a chair in the middle of the public library. Rare but wonderful writing days I take up residence on my brother’s back porch in North Carolina.

Something you must do or have to write:

Pray. Before my fingers hit the keyboard I pray that the Lord will empty me of self and fill me with His Spirit, giving me whatever He wants me to bring through the characters to the story that day—whatever will give Him the most glory and draw readers closer to His heart.

Favorite (doesn’t that word just make you cringe?) writer resource:

The Hero’s Two Journeys, by Michael Hague

What book is currently on your nightstand?

My Southern Journey—True Stories from the Heart of the South, by Rick Bragg

Hard copy, e-reader, audio book:

I prefer a hard copy. Because I spend so much time on the computer I enjoy a printed page when reading for pleasure or for research, when possible. Because I live with a large family, including precious, boisterous grandchildren, it’s hard to hear or keep my train of thought when playing an audio book.

What was the inspiration behind The Medallion?

The Medallion was inspired by two true stories—the first was the WWII account of Itzhak Dugin and his Jewish family, persecuted in Lithuania. Their heart-wrenching story made world news when the tunnel from which Itzhak escaped the Nazis was discovered using modern technology.

The second was the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker within Żegota (an underground Polish Council to Aid Jews), who developed a network to rescue children. Despite terrible risks, they smuggled 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto and certain death at the hands of the Nazis, then hid them in Polish homes, convents, churches and hospitals until the end of the war. Approximately 2,000 of those children were found after the war. Theories abound regarding the whereabouts of those missing. I couldn’t help but wonder, and imagine: What became of those 400 to 500 missing children? What became of one?

Favorite part of writing The Medallion:

I love the characters. They came alive for me in this book. I came to know them well and care deeply for them. Each one went through such hard things with great courage. Of course they’re not perfect—like all of us they are flawed but grow through their unique journeys.

Hardest part of writing The Medallion:

Research for The Medallion was heartbreaking. Learning of all that the Jewish and Polish people suffered during occupation by the Germans and later by the Russians was very difficult. There were times I didn’t want to continue reading or listening to testimonies or watching film footage, let alone visit concentration camps. Those camps today are sterile museums and simply cannot convey what life was like in them during WWII. It is mind boggling the atrocities man perpetrated on mankind while claiming to be a “superior race. But it was a story that needed to be told—so that it will never happen again and so we know that men, women and children lived with faith, courage and fortitude through impossible times and circumstances—and by God’s grace, so can we if or when we are called to do so.

What is next?

I’m working on a book set in the foothills of the North Carolina mountains, land of my birth and maternal grandparents, leading up to America’s entrance into WWII. It deals with issues imperative in their day, but that could be pulled from today’s headlines. I love the unique and endearing, enduring characters that make up the town in this story and look forward to introducing them to readers in 2020.

About the Story:

For fans of bestselling World War II fiction like Sarah’s Key and The Nightingale comes an illuminating tale of courage, sacrifice, and survival, about two couples whose lives are ravaged by Hitler’s mad war yet eventually redeemed through the fate of one little girl.

Seemingly overnight, the German blitzkrieg of Warsaw in 1939 turns its streets to a war zone and shatters the life of each citizen—Polish, Jewish, and otherwise. Sophie Kumiega, a British bride working in the city’s library, awaits news of her husband Janek, recently deployed with the Polish Air Force. Though Sophie is determined that she and the baby in her womb will stay safe, the days ahead will draw her into the plight of those around her, compelling her to help, whatever the danger.

Rosa and Itzhak Dunovich never imagined they would welcome their longed-for first child in the Jewish ghetto, or that they would let anything tear their family apart. But as daily atrocities intensify, Rosa soon faces a terrifying reality: to save their daughter’s life, she must send her into hiding. Her only hope of finding her after the war—if any of them survive—is a medallion she cuts in half and places around her neck.

Inspired by true events of Poland’s darkest days and brightest heroes, The Medallion paints a stunning portrait of war and its aftermath, daring us to believe that when all seems lost, God can make a way forward.