They worked in silence for a few moments, Audrey scrubbing a pot with a Brillo pad. Eve supposed they were both remembering Audrey’s older brother, Alfie, and how much they had both loved him. “During the war,” Audrey said, “we were grateful if we got through Christmas without being startled out of our beds in the middle of the night by air-raid sirens, remember?”

“Oh yes. And I remember how the American GIs would hold sprigs of mistletoe over our heads at the Christmas dances so they could steal a kiss.”

Audrey fell silent again, and Eve knew she was thinking of her husband, Robert. “I want Harry to have lovely memories of Christmas, but I don’t think getting every toy in the Wish Book is going to accomplish it. Besides, I can’t spend wads of money on presents with my budget.”

“My brother felt entitled to anything and everything he ever wished for, and it ruined him in the end. I don’t want that to happen to Bobby. Is there some way we can teach them not to want so much?” Audrey handed Eve the pot to dry and pulled the stopper from the sink.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it. But I agree. They need to learn that Christmas is more than getting every toy they could ever wish for.”

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A Note from the Author

Chasing Shadows was not an easy novel to write. My goal in writing each of my books is to proclaim God’s love and bring hope to readers. Telling the story of life in the Netherlands during World War II meant that I had to take readers to some very dark places. I pray that in doing so, I also showed how faithfully Jesus walks beside us through those dark valleys.

I have grown to dearly love the Netherlands and its people after visiting several times on book tours, and I’ve always wanted to make it the setting for one of my books. I had a little knowledge of how much the Dutch people suffered during the war after reading two autobiographies years ago —The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom and Things We Couldn’t Say by Diet Eman. I can’t begin to put into words the profound effect these books and these two women had on my faith. Both Corrie and Diet were Christians —living normal lives, falling in love, and making plans for the future —until the surprise Nazi invasion of their neutral nation on May 10, 1940. Both women’s faith in God proved strong and dynamic when put to the test. Their lives challenged me to question the vitality of my own faith if I were to be tested in such an overwhelming way.