I Gave My Heart to Know This
BY ellen baker
In 1944, Grace Anderson, Lena Maki, and Lena’s mother Violet navigate wartime work and complicated relationships at a Wisconsin shipyard. More than five decades later, Lena’s granddaughter Julia returns to Lena’s farm to piece together what happened when tragedy struck the trio of coworkers, with consequences that reverberated through generations.
“A sweeping multigenerational saga of the searing power of war, memory, friendship, and family.”
A Heartland Indie Bestseller
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ABOUT THE BOOK
In January 1944, Grace Anderson, Lena Maki, and Lena’s mother, Violet, have joined the growing ranks of women working for the war effort.
Though they find satisfaction in their jobs at a Wisconsin shipyard, it isn’t enough to distract them from the anxieties of wartime, or their fears for the men they love: Lena’s twin brother, Derrick, and Grace’s high school sweetheart, Alex. When shattering news arrives from the front, the lives of the three women are pitched into turmoil. As one is pushed to the brink of madness, the others are forced into choices they couldn’t have imagined—and their lives will never be the same.
More than five decades later, Violet’s great-granddaughter, Julia, returns to the small farmhouse where Violet and Lena once lived. Listless from her own recent tragedy, Julia begins to uncover the dark secrets that shattered her family, eventually learning that redemption—and love—can be found in the most unexpected places.
Beautifully written and profoundly moving, I Gave My Heart to Know This is a riveting story of loyalties held and sacred bonds broken; crushing loss and enduring dreams; and what it takes—and what it means—to find the way home.
Praise for I Gave My Heart to Know This
“Ellen Baker’s new book is a great, big, rich and romantic slice of World War II history, which chronicles the lives of three Wisconsin women left behind on the home front to carry on without the men they love. It is a loving tribute to their courage, the sacrifices they made, and their tremendous contributions to the American war effort.”
- Fannie Flagg, author of I Still Dream About You
“What a rich offering this is! Ellen Baker gives us characters who are so real, so recognizable, so likable, in spite of (or perhaps because of) their problems and secrets and frustrations and missteps; and she presents them against a story line that is epic in scope… I really loved reading this powerful and poignant book, which, though it acknowledges pain, regret and remorse, ultimately is a celebration of life.”
- Elizabeth Berg, author of Once Upon a Time There Was You
“Ellen Baker is a brilliant writer and I Gave My Heart to Know This is a marvelous novel. Moving between past and present, Baker weaves her themes of secrecy, betrayal, and forgiveness into a powerful, unforgettable story. I loved the characters so completely I began to think of them as my own family and friends.”
- Bev Marshall, author of Walking Through Shadows
“I adored this luscious novel. Its authentic details immersed me in the world of women at work during WWII…but the layered story immersed me even deeper in the secrets that get buried in generations of family history—secrets that have a way of wanting to be known, secrets we may carry without even knowing. I ached with regret for the characters, wept at their redemption, and savored every surprising turn. I loved Baker’s debut novel, and this one’s even better!”
- Katrina Kittle, author of The Blessings of the Animals
“Give your heart to Ellen Baker’s beautifully made new novel about stern people and the stern toll of urgent words never said. From the hard-bitten bluffs of Lake Superior to the coast of California, from World War II to the present day, the mothers and daughters of two Midwestern families of immigrant stock race against time and history to break down a wall of lies, before it is too late.”
- Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean
THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK
When I moved to the Lake Superior port city of Superior, Wisconsin, in 2002, after having lived most of my life in landlocked sections of the upper Midwest, I found myself captivated by the landscape of the harbor, the massive docks and ships that continue their work amid ghostly remnants of a more prosperous past. Even as thousand-foot “lakers” and slightly smaller “salties” (oceangoing vessels) bring and pick up cargoes from the ore, coal, grain, and other docks in Superior and her neighboring city of Duluth, Minnesota, around the rusted old grain elevators, warehouses, and docks hovers a sense of opportunities lost, of dust and decay, loneliness and desolation.
While working at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior in 2002–03, I researched an exhibit about the Duluth/Superior homefront, and learned that seven local shipyards had employed more than 14,000 people and built more than 200 vessels. In Superior alone, more than 7,000 people had been employed at three shipyards; today, the entire population of the city is around 28,000. Having long been interested in ideas about gender and work and war, I was fascinated by images in shipyard newsletters of groups of women posed in their welding helmets and coveralls. So when it came time, in 2006, to choose a setting for my next novel, I thought of these women.
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Reviews
“Masterful.”
- Booklist
