Shadows of a Childhood: A Novel of War and Friendship

Based on Elisabeth Gille's own experiences during World War II, Shadows of a Childhood is a fictionalized account of one individual's -- and one nation's -- coming to terms with the war. Lea and Benedicte are five and seven when they are hidden together in a convent in Bordeaux in the 1940s. They become inseparable, sharing everything except the secret of their parents' disappearances. After the war, Benedicte's world reverts to normal while Lea, marked by childhood memories she cannot escape, undertakes a devastating search for the truth.