El refugio secreto (1971)

Everyone must read this. One of the greatest stories I've ever read, and masterfully told. ( )

Courage in action. ( )

This is a wonderful book! It's an autobiographical account of the experience of a 50-something Christian Dutch woman during World War II. She recounted how her parents and aunts raised her and her siblings in the Christian faith, how her father ran a watch shop while her sister Betsie (also in her 50s) and herself helped out here and there, how during Nazi reign the family began to form an underground ring to help hide their Jewish neighbors, how they were eventually arrested and imprisoned, how her father and Betsie, while staying strong in faith (the author and Betsie had a smuggled Bible and shared their faith with fellow prisoners whenever they had the chance) and love for people (Betsie often talked to the author about how sorry she felt for the cruel prison guards and how much she wanted to help them), eventually died in prison, and how after the war the author became inspired to carry out Betsie's vision during imprisonment to open various rehabilitation centers to help Jews, Dutch people who joined Nazi forces, and German Nazis themselves to recover from trauma. There were a lot of gripping details on how they operated the underground ring, the suffering they endured in prison, and the encouragement the family members gave to one another. As a reader I was inspired by so many things the ten Boon family members said and did. They have lived such beautiful lives. The book is inspiring and very real. No fluff, no hypocrisy. The author is quite frank about her struggles. (Actually I think the book is so inspiring precisely because it is so real.) ( )

What an interesting, enlightening, thought-provoking book. Really enjoyed this one! ( )

Incredible story of Jesus in our lives today

Anybody who believes that Jesus is not directly involved in our lives in this day and age needs to read this book. ( )