From Sand and Ash

From Sand and Ash is a harrowing story of love and faith shrouded in death and despair. Amy Harmon brings together the best and the worst of humanity on these pages, paving this journey with violence and bravery, horror and love. It's a ruthless barrage of emotions, this story, a relentless war between life and death, between good and evil, illustrated exquisitely by an author whose writing prowess knows no bounds. I was torn between eagerly unearthing the twists and turns that would surely come with each turn of the page, and dreading what was to come, dreading this book ending at all. The story of Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco is as enchanting as it is chilling. The love they share is forbidden, both by duty and by law. But their attraction, the absolute truth of their lifelong love is a beautiful, palpable thing that consumes the reader despite the horrific circumstances in which that love exists.I've read many books of the true accounts of holocaust survivors, seen the movies and documentaries, taken classes concentrating on this area of study. But never before have I been made to fall in love with an individual, with a couple, with a family, before I took such a horrific journey with them. To feel as though you know their strength, to get to know their life up until the moment it is stolen away, to know their helplessness in the face of something so unjust and so terrifying, it changes the way you look at the world, to see such atrocities through their eyes. This may be a fictionalized account inspired by true events, but you won't convince my heart Eva and Angelo aren't real. This story weaves it's way under your skin and into your soul so you feel every step of their journey, of their fight, of this miracle. It's both beautiful and tortuous what Amy Harmon does here, but it's so right. It's so important. We don't truly know fear and loss and hopelessness until we take this journey ourselves. Opening this book, turning these pages, moving along with Eva and Angelo is taking the journey ourselves.This is absolutely a story of survival and love. But, more, From Sand and Ash is a poignant reminder of where we all come from, that no matter where we live or who we pray to or what we believe in, we all come from the same place. We are all made of the same things. We all seek joy, we all look to find purpose. We all love and play and pray and laugh and hope, and we all just want to be understood. Above all else, we just want to be understood. That message screamed at me on every page, in every word. Our world would be such a beautiful, peaceful, harmonious one if we sought to understand each other instead of judging each other for the ways we are different, for the God we pray to, for where each of our trees first took root. The Law of Moses taught me that we should be celebrating our differences instead of being afraid to point them out, to label them. From Sand and Ash takes that sentiment and drives it home in a way that simply can't be ignored. It's a brutal demonstration of what comes when we stop trying to understand each other, when we stop trying to relate, when we take what makes us different and use it as a means to divide us, to hurt each other, to push each other away. We need this message. We need this book. We need this reminder that when we refuse to learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it.I'm asked often what book has changed my life. I can't say I've ever had a clear answer. I've read books I've loved, I've read books that have made me see things in ways I never have before, I've read books I'll never forget. But From Sand and Ash is a life changing book. This book will change the way you go forward by forcing you to go back. It'll change your heart, it'll change your mind, it'll make you seek to understand rather than condemn. It'll make you choose to see the good where there seems to be only darkness. It'll remind you that we're all the same where it matters, that we've all come from the same place regardless of where we're going. It'll inspire you to be better. It'll demand you pay closer attention to the opportunities to do something important. It will humble you, empower you, it'll strengthen your awareness of your world, your history, your place in it. You can't read this book and not come away changed.From Sand and Ash is a rich work of art, a stunning masterpiece that has moved me, altered me, captivated me. It'll take your breath away, it'll break your heart in ways it's never been broken before, it'll leave you speechless. I was overcome with so much emotion while reading this brutally beautiful story. I was painfully terrified. I was both angered and uplifted, both defeated and empowered, broken yet healed. These characters, this fictionalized truth swathed in Harmon's unparalleled storytelling and her breathtaking writing style make for an epic story of bravery, love, resilience and loss that is both haunting and heartwarming all at once. As long as I live, I will carry this story with me.

4.5 stars. I've read a lot of historical fiction set during WWII. The locations of some of those books have included England, France, Poland, Germany, and America, but I've never read a book set in Italy. For some reason, this made an old story fresh again. I didn't know what happened in Italy during the war, so the uncertainty as I read this tale was fresh. As law after law was passed and compromise after compromise came, I felt the insidiousness of WWII all over again. When the characters weren't sure whether to flee to Rome or Florence, I didn't know which city was safer. That not knowing made the journey of Eva and Angelo so much more poignant and real.Harmon's writing style in this book is excellent. All of her books have an almost lyrical nature and explore themes of love, fear, faith, hope, forgiveness and friendship in unique ways. This book, though, felt like one of her best. I highlighted so many sentences in this book because they were just so beautifully written.I appreciated the respectful way Harmon explored the Jewish and Catholic faiths through her main characters. There was beauty in them both, and I was awed to read the story of what the Italian Catholic church did during WWII in Italy. They saved 80% of the Jewish population through the bravery of their people. So amazing & humbling.There is a love story here between Eva and Angelo, but I didn't really feel like it was the focus of the book. I thought war and faith were the focus, and Harmon made the war more personal by creating two characters who loved each other and faced unique struggles during the war.The beginning was a little choppy for me as we jumped between years, but it quickly smoothed out and became a wonderful story. I would highly recommend this one.

Harmon is both my absolute favorite author and the one I take the longest time convincing myself to come back to, simply because I know how her books destroy me every. single. time. and I have to be emotionally prepared for the onslaught.This story re-enacts the events of its setting in a poignant and utterly heart-wrenching way. You will not be the same after the journey this book takes you on through time, history, and humanity.Eva and Angelo are a match made in Heaven, forced through Hell and back again. Against all odds—against God Himself at times, it would seem—their love endures as they are torn apart more times than they are together. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book and barely survived the ending.Throughout the story, I was struck with the chilling comparison between the past and the present overlapping in recent world events and warning bells were ringing in my ears as I read. My heart ached for the stories she weaved through real history. And I cried. I cried for the innocents in the past and the innocents in the present. The war-torn, bombed cities and hatred for others who are different from us in ways they could not control if they even wanted to. It makes me think of this quote I highlighted from the book:“The kind of evil I have seen has to be stopped. This war isn’t about two equal but opposing forces who disagree. This war is about right and wrong, good and evil. And evil must be stopped. It will be stopped.”Amy Harmon’s intricate threads of wisdom, insight, and grace weave through every story she writes with masterful precision, highlighting humanity’s best and worst traits with unflinching honesty, tempered gently by hope—always by hope.