Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Keeper of Lost Children

 Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson (2026), 464 pages

I loved this book. You should go read it now. 

The historical novel follows three stories revolving around the left behind multi-racial children in post-war Germany. This is a topic I had never really thought about and was surprised on how big an issue it was. Many African American service members had relations with white German women. Due to various issues, a lot of their children ended up in orphanages in Germany. It is loosely based on the real-life story of an African American woman, Mabel Treadwell Grammer, whose husband was stationed in Mannheim and how she (almost) single-handedly adopted and found homes in the US and Germany for hundreds of orphans. It is a fascinating part of history and Johnson does an excellent job of telling the story from various points of view, helping you to grasp the full consequences of these relations and adoptions. 


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