Publication Date: January 20, 2025
Berlin, 1938. I wipe the tears streaming down my darling son’s face, my heart shattering into a million pieces. “I promise I will find you, my love. No matter what…”
Ever since the Nazis came to power, violence has spread through the city Esther Spielmann once called home. Each night she prays her family will be spared. But when her husband and father are murdered alongside fellow Jews during Kristallnacht, she has no choice but to send her beloved son, Sascha, to safety.
Esther’s heart breaks as she watches his thin legs trembling in the cold as he is ushered with the other crying children towards the Kindertransport. As the train leaves in a cloud of smoke, she thinks of the painting of the two of them hanging in their house. In it, they are tightly embracing and laughing, everything just as it should be. She vows that she will hold him like this once again. But has Esther made a promise she can’t possibly keep?
Each day the hope of finding Sascha burns like a flame in Esther’s chest. The war has taken everything from her, including the painting of her and her beloved son. Then one day the guards come. This time it is Esther who must get on a train. But unlike Sascha, Esther is not being carried to safety. She has heard whispers of the horrors of the concentration camps. But knows she must do everything in her power to survive…
When Esther hears word that her painting might have been found, hope of finding Sascha blooms once more in her chest. In the ashes of war, can she make her way back to her beloved son? And if they do meet again, will either of them be prepared for what they find?
An absolutely devastating, heartbreaking page-turning story of a family torn apart by war – and the hope that can sustain us in the darkest of places. Perfect for fans of The Book of Lost Names and The Nightingale.
As a young art gallerist in Berlin, Esther Spielmann finds success with business and her husband and son.
Her life changes, though, as Hitler’s determination to eradicate the Jews takes shape. Author Catherine Hokin delivers a heart-breaking story of World War II suffering in The Train that Took You Away.
The Spielmanns are unique in that they are wealthy Jews, but postponing the decision to leave proves to be a mistake. Hitler targeted Jews, regardless of their financial status. Esther’s angst is palpable, especially after a tragic event that forces her to make a pivotal decision.
It’s one thing for an individual to know the future will be bleak, but it is different when you have children. If you had a chance to send your child away to safety while you endured, who knows what kind of hellish torment, would you do it?
Survival takes on a deeper meaning for Esther, who is determined to be reunited with young Sascha. However, as time passes, hope begins to dwindle that she will ever see him again. Full of emotion, the journey to reuniting offers unexpected twists.
The Train that Took You Away features a Jewish mother determined to survive the horrors of the Holocaust so she can find her son.
I seem to have followed a rather meandering career, including marketing and teaching and politics (don’t try and join the dots), to get where I have always wanted to be, which is writing historical fiction. I am a story lover as well as a story writer and nothing fascinates me more than a strong female protagonist and a quest. Hopefully those are what you will encounter when you pick up my books.
I am from the North of England but now live very happily in Glasgow with my American husband. Both my children have left home (one to London and one to Berlin) which may explain why I am finally writing. If I’m not at my desk you‘ll most probably find me in the cinema, or just follow the sound of very loud music.
