We Must Be Brave

by Frances Liardet

Book Overview

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage. --Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

Spanning World War II and the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.

A woman. A war. The child who changed...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735218862
• ISBN13: 9780735218864
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

World war ll /England

A Fabulous story of a young Newlywed woman...Ellen Parr, who finds a little girl all by herself..Sound asleep in the back of an empty bus....with nothing but an old ragged dirty blanket. Ellen calls out to the many women running into the town hall building...of her Southhampton Village seeking shelter from the German bombs.There is so much chaos...surly she thinks ...the child was left here by accident. As Ellen Lifts the sleeping little girl and brings her inside...Everyone she stops to ask...if they have seen her with her mother....most don't know anything..and two older women tell her..they helped her on the bus...because she told them..."her mommy was going on the one before her"..and when it stops they'll meet up. They thought it very odd with all the conditions of war..a mother would just put her child alone on a bus. Ellen of course takes the little girl home to stay with her...as the war continues on..the little girl Pamela, stays with Ellen and her husband Selwyn, and even though Ellen was ok with not wanting any children ...she can't help to become very attached to Pamela, and her love for her grows...like she never dreamed it could. As the war starts to wind down...one of the women from the shelter that night...pays Ellen a visit...telling her a man..that looks JUST LIKE Pamela..is looking for his lost daughter..who would have been around Pamela's age now ! The women feels for Ellen..knowing her Absolute Abundance of love ..that has grown between them...but the realization comes ...that Pamela was NEVER really theirs to keep. That Reality...brings so much depth to the story ..and what happens to them all. It is richly written..with many fascinating Characters and the dynamics between them all...that make them all part of each others lives...from when they were young..till their old old age .It is about love and loss and how familys pull through..in war torn England .Deeply moving, heartbreaking and heartful..of what it means to truly love a child and to endure that love, beyond distance, beyond time...beyond your life .Truly gripping tale...that pulls at your heart.. and leaves you with watery eyes. It Absolutely is more deserving of the 5 stars you can give it ! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I Was Disappointed

I thought the story started out so well but then dragged on. Parts were boring.

A tragic story with a beautiful ending!

Frances Liardet has written a stunning story of love found, and then lost, and finally reconciliation. We Must Be Brave is a beautiful, heartrending novel set in a small village during World War Two. I did not want this book to end!

Rich story telling, you will experience so many emotions, fabulous read!

This gripping story takes place during WWII England, has you taking journeys you don’t expect. It is an emotional page turner about a young woman, her difficulties growing up, romance and unexpectedly finding herself in the care of an innocent child and life’s turn of events. This story is drama, romance, love to the core. The shell seekers is my all time favorite book, in this category of drama and romance.